I had two dental crowns placed on my front teeth over ten years ago. They are really discolored. I’m too embarrassed to smile.  I went to my dentist, who is a different one because the original dentist retired. He says that he cannot do the crowns unless I get full orthodontic treatment with braces. I don’t understand this at all. My first dentist was able to place the crowns without braces. Why can’t this one? The teeth themselves are a little crooked and do stick out a tiny bit, but that’s about it. I really can’t afford braces right now. Is there no way to just replace the crowns?

Marlene

Dear Marlene,

I’m sorry your dentist is putting these restrictions on you. Not every case has to be the ideal. You asked a good question. If your old dentist could do the crowns without braces, why can’t he?

You don’t have to wait until you can afford orthodontics to get your crowns. You can have them without ortho, forever if you want, or you can have the orthodontics done later.

If you choose to have them done later, you are not locked into metal braces. There are other options, such as Invisalign, that can straighten your teeth using clear aligners. That way you can straighten your teeth without anyone ever knowing.

In the meantime, I’d look for a dentist who is a skilled cosmetic dentist. Front teeth are tricky to do. You certainly don’t want anyone who would place metal-based dental crowns on front teeth. You’ll want all-porcelain crowns placed instead. Otherwise they will look a bit fake. Eventually, they will also get a gray line at the gumline, such as you see on the example image above.

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