Crowns have all been cemented in. Can I have them redone?

Hello Noreen,I'm sorry to hear that you are unhappy with the shade of your new crowns.  Unfortunately, there is no way to change the shade of your crowns now that they are permanently cemented. I would suggest speaking with your dentist about this.  If you are unhappy with the shade of your crowns, they would need to be replaced. This would involve your dentist cutting your current crowns off and having new ones made. Be sure that you love the color of your new crowns before having them permanently cemented. Good luck and I hope this helps. Follow me if you have more questions.Sarah Thompson, DMDSt. Louis, MO area (O'Fallon, IL)Real Self 100

Unfortunately if the color is not up to your satisfaction, then the only remedy is to change the crowns entirely. Its important to realize if the crowns are changed, there exists potential of future irritation to the tooth, which your dentist can help minimize by using anti sensitivity materials in your temporarily while your new crowns are made. However you have to realize this risks exists with almost any dental procedure. Ultimately if you feel that you are unhappy with the color, please discuss that with your dentist and find the right alternative and correction to make sure you are satisfied.I am sure you will be happy with final results.All the best,

Any time you redo a crown there is a chance of causing it to need a root canal. If it is a healthy tooth I put the odds at less than 1%. The reason it may need a root canal is that if additional tooth structure is removed it may get closer to the nerve/pulp, resulting in an insult to it. If the insult is too much for the nerve - that is you get too close then it can flare up and need RCT (root canal therapy). If an old crown is not to your aesthetic taste, the greatest likelihood is that the lab did a poor job. Sometimes the lab may be limited in what they can do id the dentist doesn't remove enough tooth structure to leave them enough room to build up a proper anatomical and esthetic crown. I would suggest that if you redo the crowns use eMAX all porcelain crowns - they are the standard now. They look much better than old porcelain over metal crowns and are strong enough to withstand posterior chewing forces. A good lab is very hard to find. I estimate only 1% of the labs out there at most can do a nice esthetic well-fitting restoration. Most people don't appreciate a nice crown in the back - they go more for price. My advice is to have the next dentist show examples of the labs posterior work before you begin.