I’m in a quandary. My entire top arch is made up of crowns. Don’t ask. Long story. They’re about ten years old. I noticed one of the very front crowns is wiggly. I went to see a dentist. He said the crown needs to be replaced, but in order to get the new crown to match, they’d have to all be replaced. Do you realize how many crowns that is? In order to match one crown, I’d have to practically mortgage my house. What the heck? I was never told they’d all have to be replaced if one went bad when I first got them. Is there any other option? I don’t want to go so far in debt, but it’s a front tooth so I do want it to match. Help me.

Kiera E.

Kiera,

This is just a guess, but I can pretty much guarantee it’s a correct one. Your dentist is a decent family dentist, but not one who has excellent cosmetic skills. A good cosmetic dentist can match a single crown to the rest of your teeth. This one can’t, so instead, he wants you to spend a small fortune replacing all of them so he can make them all exactly the same.

You need a different dentist. An expert cosmetic dentist. It’s hard for patients to know which dentists are skilled and artistic with cosmetics and which aren’t. One of the reasons for that is there isn’t actually a recognized specialty from the ADA in cosmetic dentistry, so any general dentist can call themselves a cosmetic dentist no matter how unskilled they are.

Fortunately, the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry realized how difficult this is for patients. They started an accreditation program for dentists so there would be some way to distinguish those dentists who put the effort into learning the skills and artistry required to create beautiful smiles.

In your case, instead of mortgaging your house, I’d find an AACD accredited dentist and have them match your single crown to the rest of your teeth. You can still go to your regular dentist for other things if you want, but I’m concerned that he cares more about saving his “reputation” than how much money he costs you.

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