Tag Archives: Porcelain Veneer

Dental Implants

Deformed and Missing Teeth

I have a problem with both of my lateral incisors on my upper teeth. One of them is completely missing and never came in. The other is smaller than it should be. I want to fix this before I go to college. I have a dental flipper for the missing tooth area currently, but my parents were told that the flipper should be temporary. They both passed my senior year of high school. I stayed with some friends until graduation. I was going to use their life insurance for college, but I received a great scholarship so now I am free to use the money to fix my teeth. Do you have any suggestions?

Caroline

Dear Caroline,

illustration of a dental implant

I had so many emotions reading through your question. First, I want to express my condolences at the loss of your parents while you are yet so young. Next, I want to say congratulations on your scholarship. That is absolutely fantastic, especially given all the difficulties which you experienced during your senior year. That says a lot about your perseverance.

As to your tooth, I am going to suggest that you replace the congenitally missing tooth with a dental implant. This is the most secure tooth replacement we have. It is expensive and does require surgery, but as young as you are, it will be important in order to preserve the bone structure. You may even need some bone grafting done before the implant is placed. There are other options, such as a dental bridge, but the implant is the best option.

As for the other tooth, I am going on the assumption that it is a deformed tooth and not a baby tooth still left in place. On that assumption, you will want to use either a porcelain veneer or a porcelain crown depending on how small the incisor is.

The trick with both of these procedure will be matching the color of the implant and other restoration to the natural teeth that are adjacent to them. These are very visible teeth, which means light hits them exposing all their variations.

You will need an expert cosmetic dentist to get this done right.

Best of luck to you at university. I have a feeling you are going to accomplish great things. This blog is brought to you by Lafayette, LA Dentists Drs. Foreman and Thimmesch.

Porcelain Veneers

One of my teeth is turning dark

When I was a kid I got hit in the mouth by a wooden swing. It chipped the corner of my tooth off, and for all these years I’ve had a small filling that was apparently very well done, according to all the dentists I have seen. Now that I am considerably older, though, that tooth is starting to get dark. I noticed it starting several years ago and it has been happening very slowly, but now it is quite noticeable.

This is making me pretty self-conscious. I talked to my dentist about Lumineers, but he said there have been problems with that kind of porcelain veneer. He also said that he was reluctant to do a porcelain crown, because the canal has calcified and the structure wouldn’t be strong enough.

He really told me all about what he didn’t want to do, and didn’t offer a solution. Do you have any suggestions?

Thanks,

Cody in Los Angeles, CA

Dear Cody,

From the sounds of it, your dentist is uncomfortable with cosmetic procedures. It is actually a good thing that he is not offering to do procedures that he is not comfortable with, as that could have an unhappy result. Ask your dentist to refer you to a cosmetic dentist, one who has the training and experience necessary to do a really beautiful job for you.

A single porcelain veneer or even direct dental bonding would be very viable solutions to your problem, in the hands of the right cosmetic dentist. There is no reason you can’t go to a different dentist for this cosmetic procedure, and stay with your regular dentist for cleanings and regular care.

Lafayette Louisiana cosmetic dentist Dr. Mike Malone’s office provides this blog as a courtesy.

Porcelain Veneers

Porcelain crowns and gum inflammation

I recently had a veneer put on one of my upper front teeth, and a crown on the other. My gums were really sensitive after the work was done, and instead of improving, they have gotten worse. My gums are inflamed and extremely sensitive to the touch, and this just can’t keep on like this.

The dentist who did the work could not fix the problem, so I saw a different dentist, who recommended I see a periodontist, which I did. She treated the gumline, which did not help. Most recently I saw a prosthodontist, who said that the dentist who did the work put the crown too deep and close to the bone. He said that he might be able to improve the situation with perio surgery, but that he cannot “offer any guarantees”, and cosmetic damage to the gum area between my two front teeth is likely to result.

Isn’t there any other solution? I can’t believe I have to chose between the health of my teeth and gums and permanent scarring, when I just spent so much to improve my appearance.

Carl in San Fransisco

Dear Carl,

The problem is indeed the placement of the porcelain crown and porcelain veneer. They are too deep under your gums, which has violated the biologic width of your teeth. Though this phenomenon has only recently been researched, it is disappointing that it took so many professionals so long to determine the cause of the problem. In terms of an alternate solution, it is likely there is not one. You should have the surgery. The situation as it stands right now is not only unsightly, it is dangerous. Left untreated, gum disease can lead to more serious conditions that jeopardize your health.

The prosthodontist is being cautious, because he does not want you to get upset if there is indeed scarring. No judicious dentist would ever offer a guarantee, in any case. No procedure can be guaranteed.

In the meantime, you might want to consider rinsing with Peridex antibacterial rinse to bring down the inflammation. If you do use Peridex, make sure you also brush with Supersmile toothpaste, as Peridex stains the teeth.

This blog is brought to you courtesy of Lafayette Louisiana cosmetic dentist Dr. Mike Malone.