Dental Crowns on Front 6 Teeth. Not Happy So Far?

The process of cosmetic dentistry usually starts with a provisional restoration designed to correct a smile.  This is done in various materials, I use integrity.  This allows a preview of the shape, color, and contour of the final restoation.  An important consideration with provisionals is to ensure that there in enough room after prepping the teeth for ideal ceeramic construction, this information also comes from the provisionals.  Creating a smile is actually artwork.  The way the lip lies over the teeth is extremely important.

When the patient is happy with the provisionals they are used to create the final smile design.  The best cosmetic results are usually when either 4 or 8 teeth are done.  The canine is a cornerstone in the mouth and an ideal smile should flow forward and back from the canines.

If you are unhappy with the final crowns they can be recontoured and reshaped only by removing ceramic.   Sometimes the only way to correct a poor cosmetic result is to redo the case. 

 

If the case is not cemented you can remove the crowns easily and send them back to the lab.  Labs are not all the same, crowns may cost as little as $69 or several hundreds of dollars.  In general high end cosmetic dentistry costs more than simple crowns due to the extra steps and  labratory expenses.

You mentioned your dentist wants you to "try out" the crowns. You should find out if they are placed on your teeth with temporary cement, because if so, it should be easy to remove them and either modify them or remake them. If they are cemented with permanent cement, they will usually not come off without being destroyed and having to be remade.  Good luck

If you do not like your temporariy veneers, please do not get the permanent ones placed!!!  I am assuming you did not see a cosmetic dentist.  Please re-evaluate your situation.  If you are seeing a cosmetic dentist, then they will address your concerns and attend your needs. This is very important when dealing with cosmetics.  You are paying for a certain look and design, of which I hope you were involved in designing at the initial onset. Good luck and be involved!!

An experienced Cosmetic Dentist would have had a trial run with properly fitting and shaped yemporary crowns. Once you approve those, the permanent crowns would be made to duplicate that shape. You should be totally happy with the look and color of the new crowns before allowing them to be permanently cemented.

It sounds like you are disappointed in your new crowns. You are at a critical step-in my opinion, don't have the permanent crowns cemented in until you sit there and try them first. It's much more difficult to make any changes after that. Here are some things you can do before you get any crowns put in permanently:


Make as specific a list as possible about what problems or disappointments you are having.

Prioritize them. Make sure to get the first few most important things addressed quickly.

You might have to go back to temporaries and make sure you are happy with those, before they go on to the permanent ones. 

Consider bringing someone with you to the appointment. They can add a listening ear, as well as look to see how the crowns really look on you.

If you still have strong doubts after all of this, I would go to a cosmetic dentist for a 2nd opinion. 

You mentioned your dentist wants you to "try out" the crowns.  You should find out if they are placed on your teeth with temporary cement, because if so, it should be easy to remove them and either modify them or remake them.  If they are cemented with permanent cement, they will usually not come off without being destroyed and having to be remade.  If the modification is minor, it may be possible to make corrections without the need to remove or damage them.  You should have been given the opportunity to preview them before they were cemented permanently.  Hope that helps.

We use a template to place of your mouth that resembles your final product. We call it the "trial smile".   If the template does not look right, it can be tweaked until it is correct.  The final product should be identical to the final trial smile.  We would never make the final smile until we have an approved "trial smile".  Our impressions are extremely accurate when done properly and there should be no marginal openings.  It should be a perfect fit or the crowns would not be cemented or bonded.  One last note, we typically always do one more tooth in the smile.  Six teeth is sometimes odd in the smile and does not complete the smile without doing at least the first bicuspid on each side.  Hope this helps.  Good luck.  David Frey DDS