Big Mistake - East Springfield, PA

It took me a while to even notice this, as in many lights it looks fine and matches my other teeth. To be honest, it was such an ordeal, and so expensive for me, that I am not sure I want to go through all of that again any time soon unless I absolutely have to. The procedure itself took nearly 8 hours between two sessions. The dentist has her lab in the office so she made about 5 teeth in that time. By the 5th one, I was so exhausted and in so much pain. I hate the way my tooth looks in certain lights, but I just don't know if I want to spend another $1000 and go through that all over again, when there is no guarantee I will like the next one. My friends and family keep telling me that they wouldn't have even noticed it if I didn't point it out to them, but I feel like it looks awful.

I'm not a fan of "in-house" dental labs. Its like the dentist being a one stop shop. There's no way they can get the best ceramist to work on your teeth. As well it sounds like they are using a cerec or some type of milling machine to make your teeth if they are able to make so many at once. For a real artistic ceramist they will work on one tooth at a time layering porcelain to create the final product. I understand how difficult and emotional a process like this is. I've had work done more than 5 times because it was wrong through the last 13 years of my life. I learned a lot and also spent a lot of money to learn this.. And I get really sad for people when they aren't happy with their smile after doing treatment like this because I know from first hand experience how it feels. Even if no one else notices, you notice and that's what matters the most. Everything you're writing is saying your dentist is not the right person to do your cosmetic treatment but if he's willing to do it again for free then I'd try it. But if I had more money and was in your shoes I'd seek someone that is a Fellow or an Accredited member of the AACD.

Are you happy now with your teeth? I am on my 5th set of bad veneers. So hard to find someone good in San Diego, ca

Cavesina - how are you going about looking for your cosmetic dentist? What is it that is wrong with your teeth? Just crooked? Are they stained? Do you have implants or anything in particular that is making the dental case harder than it should be? Not only should you be looking for a good cosmetic dentist but learn more about the dental lab and in particular the dental ceramist that will be working on your veneers. You need a good cosmetic dentist that understands the case and can communicate everything necessary to the ceramist and you need a great ceramist to build the teeth correctly. If you've been looking on the AACD for a fellow or accredited dentist and you've been disappointed by their work, I suggest you start looking for highly skilled dental ceramist and reaching out to them directly to see which dentist they work with in your area (it's like back door route). Personally I like the idea of finding a ceramist you want to work on your teeth and asking him to refer you to a dentist since the ceramist is the real artist in a veneer case and if he is really good he will know a good dentist from a mediocre one. Let me know if you need additional help. I don't know if I'm allowed to post links or anything to wear you can find a good database of quality ceramist but look around on the web.

Hi! Thank you for your reply. I have been going through this process for 6 years now :( the problem I think was my first dentist. The prep time for my first appointment was 45 mi. for 6 veneers. He basically just sawed all six of my teeth down very quickly and put temporaries on that were the same mold as the teeth he just sawed off. It was my first time having veneers so I didn't know any better. So my next appt. he cemented my permanent teeth in without me looking or approving them first. My teeth were huge and the bottom inch was completely clear. I told him they looked wierd with the clear bottom. He said oh I do that so they have more demention. I figured I would see if I got used to them before I had him change them. Well my first week with my new teeth one popped off!!! I was horrified! I came back and he put a temporary on and when the permanent came in it was completely yellow. He again cemented it without showing it to me. When I looked in the mirror I cried. I told him I wish I had my old teeth back. I got the veneers because I am a grinder and I wore my teeth down so the were very sensitive. I told my dentist I wanted my veneers redone and he said I would have to pay for a new set. Well I said forget that! I then researched labs and found one I thought I really liked. He was local and is work that I saw was beautiful. I sat down with him and he told me the different dentists that he worked with. So I made an appt with my new dentist and I paid for a new set of veneers. This time the prep took 4 1/2 hours for the six teeth. The dentist was shocked when he took my old veneers off. He found foil under and inside the veneer. He made temporaries for me that would look like my new teeth. I loved my temporaries! So my new teeth came in and the dentist tried them on me and I really liked them, so he cemented them. I was very happy. Well the next several months I lost several veneers. They kept popping off. The dentist said that all of my natural tooth was almost gone. He said the last dentist really didn't leave much for him to work with. So we were going to have issues with them staying on. I am sure everyone knows where this goes after this... Yep, the new tooth didn't match the other teeth. They looked horrible. After about a year four of my six veneers had come off and new ones were put on so my front teeth were huge again and they were all different colors. They have stayed on now for several years because my dentist had the veneers made almost like crowns because of the lack of natural tooth. I have spent so much money tried two different dentist and am just so unhappy with how they look. I have been researching labs and new dentists but haven't found anyone yet because I am afraid the same thing will happen. I am so desperate that I asked Demi Moore via twitter who her dentist was!!! I never got a response:( I wish I knew of a good cosmetic dentist that can get this right. I am even willing to travel to find someone good so I can finally be happy. Anyone love your veneers? I hope this helps others so they don't go down the same path I did.

Thank you thank you thank you! It sounds like you know your stuff!! You are right on with my entire situation. I am so glad I posted on this site because it is so nice to know I am not alone. Thank you so much!

To look at the ceramist & go backwards to find a dentist is a great idea! i am an artist/potter. I am VERY particular. i have 20 year old veneers that need to be re-done. i keep looking at pictures that different dentists post to see their "artwork". i am so nervous. just because someone had many degrees does not mean they are a good artist. i do not want clunky fake looking teeth. also, i'm not a millionaire...

It was just one veneer, my right front tooth.

It's hard to match one tooth to all your others. Usually dentist recommend doing veneers in twos to match the adjacent. I think $1000 is still relatively cheap but nonetheless we should all be 100% happy if we are giving anyone any money. I really hope you find a way to get this fixed so you're happy.

Thank you. At this point it is likely I will just have to live with it and be extra cautious what dentist I choose when it is time to replace it.

I think that is wise. Honestly you can't really see it in the picture, like if you stare you can but I've actually had a worse veneer done that was really greyish in photos with natural light so I knew others could probably see it when I smiled so I never smiled a lot or always turned away. Yours looks okay and just rest assure that it's completely fixable when you're ready to fix it. I know you probably like your dentist, but I've been the victim of having a dentist I liked fix my teeth and it didn't work out well. Then I had to spend more money fixing it somewhere else. Take care!!

It just really seems to depend on the lighting. There are times I look at it and it looks great, then other times it is noticeably darker than the other front tooth. I added another picture which shows the color discrepancy a little better than the other pictures I took. I went to this dentist because she was supposed to be a cosmetic dentist and came highly recommended by a friend. So I didn't even go to my normal dentist. I will definitely not go back to her.

Could you go to a different dentist? Get a second opinion?

That's really good news. Not all AACD accredited members are the same but I think you're definitely better off with someone that is accredited given the amount of training and exams they have to take to get to that level. They usually go through continuing education and conferences too, to mingle with other dentist and ceramist. Your dentist should be taking a lot of pictures. Even on the consultation the dentist should take pictures of your teeth from a front view, and side views. Either ask him if he sees anything wrong with the crown / veneer you put on (to test his aesthetic eye) or tell him it is greyish in natural light. The problem with a lot of dentist who rely on a camera is that they use a flash, and I'm pretty sure you can't tell the difference that well with a photo that is taken with a flash. If he says he can get rid of the grey color you should ask how. Either your natural tooth color is coming through the crown and making it a different color, or the color of the crown/veneer is off and needs to be matched better. I think the grey color comes from the veneer being too white (in my opinion). Given you're going to a dentist that I believe will be using a better dental lab, he will say he can have the ceramist match the color better with porcelain. Here's questions I would ask before I committed any money to a dentist - Can you match the tooth to my natural teeth? Is it possible for you and the ceramist to fix just the one tooth and have it match? Will a temporary wax up be made by the ceramist and will I have that in my mouth while the real veneer is being made? Will the wax up be the blue print for the final product? Will we continue to work on the case until it is matched if it is not matched the first time the tooth is delivered from the ceramist? Who is the ceramist that you work with? How long have you worked with him? Are these before and after photos with the same ceramist that will work on my case? Can you walk me through the process when we do a try in with the veneer/crown? Will you take additional pictures for me to look at? When the case is delivered for try in is it possible to have it temporarily cemented for a few days or a week so I can go home and see on my own if it matches, given that I'll be numb and I may not have enough time to look at the tooth while in the chair? Will there be additional cost if we have to send the veneer back to the lab to have it touched up or worked on? That's all the questions I can think of right now. You need to make sure the dentist is taking enough photos for him and for the ceramist given the ceramist probably not be seeing you in person but rely on dental photos. Make sure the dentist has a nice camera too (one time a dentist was using a really cheap camera for me...not a good dentist). Asking about the ceramist let's you do your own research and also let's you make sure the dentist isn't using some big laboratory that lives off its reputation. You want to make sure your dentist is using a master ceramist and not just a lab like da vinci or some other ones I can't really think of (even a big name like Jason Kim is now just a big lab). So you want to make sure you're working with a small lab that really focuses on artistry not pushing veneers out. Also make sure there will be no additional cost for redoing the veneer so long as you don't permanently cemented it. Usually dental labs have an agreement with the dentist that they will fix anything as long as it is sent back. You also want to guarantee they will do whatever it takes to make you happy. My last case lasted over 6 months until it was properly done. The dentist never complained and was ok with this because he felt it was also his reputation on the line to do it right. Lastly I really think having the veneer temporarily cemented during the try in so you can go home and live with it for a few days is the right thing to do. It will give you time to make sure everything is right and you're happy. A good dentist will happily do this. Who is the dentist you found if you don't mind me asking? A lot of the accredited members have written articles that you can find online about cases they've done and they will post pictures and give credit to their ceramists. If you need any more help please feel free to ask and I can do some searching for you if you'd like. There are also additional resources I can point you to for you to do your homework. I offer this to you because I actually believe (no offense to realself) that some of the dentist that are replying to questions on here are not up to my standard in what I would want from a dentist and this is just a very small subset of a big population of "cosmetic dentist". Take care

Sorry, I swear I broke the above reply into paragraphs. But it post as one big paragraph so read it in sections :)

So this is the update. I went to the dentist that is an accredited member of AACD I mentioned above. He took X-rays and stated that he could do a better job matching the color and he believes my real tooth inside the veneer is contributing to the gray color, but the color of the veneer is also a little off. He stated that there is the possibility that I will need a root canal. I am really disappointed and angry about my tooth, but I just can't afford a new veneer, then a root canal, then another new veneer after the root canal. It would all be out of pocket for me. So it looks like I am stuck with a gray front tooth for a while.

I agree that it's going to be expensive to replace. However I question either your first dentist or this new one that you've just seen because you had a chipped too and now the new dentist is saying the tooth may be dead and you need a root canal. Unless the chip came from some intense impact I don't see how the tooth can be dead and why your first dentist didn't say anything about this if it was. When the tooth dies the tooth starts to turn a hueyish grey (happened to my front incisor). I had a root canal done and then went through a lot of cosmetic work to try to match the color. Your case becomes even more difficult now if the tooth is dead because they have to mask out the grey color and try to match the adjacent's teeth's color and translucency. Since I've had soemthing very similar (if you in fact have a dead tooth) I will say it will be very hard to match a single veneer to your other teeth. I'm sure it's possible but there's probably only a few ceramist that can possibly do it. I tried doing that 4 times and it never worked and have decided to do additional teeth (even more money out of the pocket). If you do need a root canal (see another dentist for a second opinion first), then you might want to consider getting that done. If you don't clean out the root if the tooth is dead then you might lose your tooth eventually and need an implant (you don't want that to happen).

No, my tooth is not dead. The dentist said that doing more work on the tooth could cause me to need a root canal. He said it causes trauma to the tooth and because my tooth has already gone through so much with being chipped, having a bond, having that fall off, all the work that the previous dentist did, he cannot say either way whether doing more to my tooth would result in needing a root canal.

Ok that makes me feel better about this new dentist. He should be able to take off the veneer with drilling and a lot of water. The problem with redoing veneers is taking off the veneer is a tedious process because the cement heats up I believe so they need to use a lot of water and take their time getting off all the cement with minimal tooth reduction. I've been thinking about making a website to help others find a good cosmetic dentist so we don't have to go through these redo processes. Just be patient and save up some $..the good thing you now know is that you can get it redone and you're informed now so you'll get it done right.