I’ve got a smile makeover disaster. I have three different colored teeth right now. First, my ugly natural yellow teeth, then I had four porcelain veneers placed. Three of them look okay, but one of them is an uneven gray color. I paid a lot of money hoping to get a beautiful smile, but now I feel ridiculous with three different colors of teeth. I don’t even smile. My dentist said she’d make the gray one thicker to even out the colors, but I’m not sure how that will look and I’m losing confidence in her. What do you recommend?
Laurie
Dear Laurie,
Yikes! I can understand why you are unhappy. It sounds like you went to your family dentist who was in over her head. First, don’t let her make the graying veneer thicker. In fact, I think you need to ask for a refund and start over.
If I’m right about the graying veneer you have a good case for one. Because it is a splotchy gray, I think there isn’t a good bond between the porcelain veneer and the tooth. This is bad for your teeth. It allows things to get between the two, leaving you vulnerable for decay.
When you have this re-done, the first thing the dentist will have you do is whiten your teeth. This will keep your adjacent teeth from being an obviously different color. This is why your natural teeth look so obviously different from your four porcelain veneers.
Finding the Right Cosmetic Dentist to do Your Porcelain Veneers
It is imperative you have an excellent cosmetic dentist to re-do your porcelain veneers. Unfortunately, doing beautiful smile makeovers aren’t taught in dental school. Dentists have to invest time in getting the training they need.
Even with training, as with every art, some dentists have a more artistic eye than others. If you want the best cosmetic dentist, I’d go to aacd.com and look up an accredited cosmetic dentist in your area.
AACD accredited cosmetic dentists are the top cosmetic dentists in the country. They’ve passed stringent oral and written exams. Additionally, they have to provide visual evidence of a large number of cases they’ve done in order to show they are both technically skilled and artistic.
This blog is brought to you by Louisiana Cosmetic Dentist Dr. Mike Malone.