My daughter had four porcelain veneers placed on her front teeth to help with some crookedness. We couldn’t do orthodontics because of some previous damage. He was afraid the teeth couldn’t take the movement. Unfortunately neither she nor I are happy with the results. They just don’t look as natural as we were led to believe, yet our dentist insists they look gorgeous. We didn’t even get to see them before he bonded them on. Can we get our money back? Why do people rave about porcelain veneers if they look so fake?

Desiree B. from Boston

Desiree,

Actually, porcelain veneers, when done artistically, look fantastic. I suspect your dentist is not a true cosmetic dentist. One of the problems with cosmetic dentistry is that any general dentist can call themselves a cosmetic just by learning a few procedure. Unfortunately, it takes significant post graduate training to become artistic enough to make porcelain veneers not only natural, but beautiful.

A true cosmetic dentist would try on the veneers with a temporary paste and let you look at them in several different lights. They would want to be sure you were absolutely thrilled with them before they bonded them on permanently. Another thing that makes me suspect your dentist isn’t a true cosmetic dentist is that he tried to convince you the veneers were beautiful. In dental school we are taught the dentist knows best. But, when it comes to cosmetic dentistry it is the patient who knows best. We are treating your self esteem. If you don’t love them, it’s not done.

As far as getting your money back, that might be tricky. If the only thing wrong with them is you don’t like their appearance, he has no legal obligation to give you your money back. You could try.  I would also go to a truly qualified cosmetic dentist and get a second opinion. If at all possible, go to a dentist outside of your area and don’t tell him who the dentist was. See if the second dentist thinks the work was done poorly. That may help your case.