I had several porcelain veneers done and they ended up looking awful. I never got to see them before he bonded them on so had no idea how bad they were until I got home. He agreed he’d redo them after I called him and told him how miserable I was about how they looked. Unfortunately, when he tried to remove the first one, he broke the tooth. It broke so completely he ended up having to extract it and now I’m having to get a dental implant. I have a flipper for now because I told him not to remove the others until I have a chance to get a second opinion on what’s going on. I know he’s the professional, but I feel like he can’t be trusted. What’s going on?

Jennifer

Dear Jennifer,

I have to tell you this is gross incompetence on the part of your dentist. If I am truly understanding what you’re saying here, it sounds like your dentist tried to “pop” or pry off the veneers from your teeth. That is absolutely NOT how this is done.

Instead, porcelain veneers will be gently ground off, sort of how the dentist prepared your teeth the receive the veneers to begin with. If he broke your tooth so badly it couldn’t be saved, I wouldn’t let him anywhere near the rest of your teeth. He doesn’t have a clue about cosmetic dentistry.

1. He didn’t let you see them with a try-in paste before permanently bonding them on.
2. He didn’t make them to your standards.
3, He didn’t know how to remove them.

You’re going to need an expert cosmetic dentist. I’ll tell you how to find one of those in a moment, but first I want to make sure you don’t get stuck with this bill. You’re going to have to be pretty tough and tell your dentist you won’t sue him if he pays for the repairs with the cosmetic and implant dentist of your choice. If he’s wise, he’ll do it.

Finding an Expert Cosmetic Dentist

The problem many patients run into is the skills necessary to go stunning cosmetic dentistry requires significantly more training than they received in general dental school. It takes significant post-doctoral training to know what you’re doing.

You want a dentist who’s invested that time in the additional studies as well having an artistic eye. To find that type of dentist you can look at two resournces, The first of those is the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry website. Once there, you can list a location were you’d like to be treated. The key here, though, is checking you want an accredited cosmetic dentist. These are among the best dentists in the world.

They can give you a stunning smile. However, because it takes many years to reach accreditation, there aren’t many of them around the country.

There is another list. This one is called nynewsmile.com. Like the aacd.com website, they have a link to find a cosmetic dentist. You’ll input your zip code along with how far you’re willing to travel and they’ll give you a list of incredible cosmetic dentists. Many of them are close to being accredited if they’re not accredited already.

Have one of these dentists re-do your smile makeover as well as plan your dental implant. You shouldn’t have anything to worry about with one of them. In fact, most of them have a beautiful smile guarantee.

This blog is brought to you by Lafayette Dentist Dr. Mike Malone.