No Mock Up Done for Veneers, Temporary Veneers Look Terrible, Can I Make Changes to Permanent Veneers?

Temporary veneers do two things: they keep the teeth comfortable after they have been prepared and they act as a preview of what cosmetic results may be delivered.

Temporary veneers are plastic and never have all of the elegance and sophistication that the final porcelain veneers do, BUT they ought to be a resemblance of what the new teeth will look like. 

In your situation, call the office right away, tell them that you need some adjustments. Make a short list, with as many specific concerns as possible, See if the dentist has good answers to your concerns, see if he can make any of the changes or adjustments NOW. Sometimes everything looks better and works better after a little adjusting after the numbness is gone.

If you get good answers, then take him up on his invitation to visit the lab. DIscuss your concerns with them too. Feel free to go back to the lab after the veneers are ready and look at them. 

If you continue moving forward, then take someone with you to the fitting appointment who you know has a good eye for aesthetics and what looks good on you. Have the veneers tried in. If your friend likes them then that's an objective opinion that it will be OK to have them permanently cemented.

If you get weak answers, no progress from the adjustments, see no elegance from the lab, then I would go immediately for a second opinion with the best and most respected cosmetic dentist you can find.

There is no reason why you can't get a good result. Communicate, and when you get solid answers go forward.

Temporary veneers for the most part serve two purposes, to cover the teeth and to act as a preview for what the finals may look like.  If you are not happy with the end result do not let your dentist bond them one. 

There are some red flags. If you are having veneers done, it is most likely to improve the way the teeth look. A very good wax-up (mock-up) needs to be done to see how the case is going to look before you do anything to your teeth. This can be done either by the dentist or the technician (doesn't matter as long as it is good). The temporaries are then made from a mold of the wax-up and they should look very good. Certainly better than what your teeth looked like before. The temporaries can then be tweaked and modified as needed, and a mold of these is taken for the lab as a guide for the finals. It's like a test drive.

 The final veneers should then be tried in and you need to approve it prior to cementing. If you are not sure, do not cement them. Once cemented only minor adjustment can be done to the length and shape. If you want to make major changes they will have to be cut off and the whole process repeated.

Chances are the lab will do a good job and you may be happy in the end, but a good experienced cosmetic dentist should not make bad looking temporaries. Temporary veneers are typically not make in the lab, but with good technique and experience you can make then look excellent.

Good luck

Dr.T

I would suggest you wait and see what the permanent veneers look like when they are tried in if your happy proceed and if not have changes made before they are cemented in. If appears your dentist may not of had time or impressions to make appropiate temps it happen more than you think. You call the office for an appt. staff gives you an appt. but doctor didn't have prep op models for temps so attemps to free hand in the mouth. From a dentist stand point alot of time and effort in these wax ups and we are never sure the patient is going to schedule or want to pay for the treatment not trying to make excuses but it happens. Good Luck    

 

 

 

Kevin Coughlin DMD, MBA, MAGD    CEO Baystate Dental PC

This is not the way I do Cosmetic Dentistry. My temporaries match the mock-ups, and always look better than the original teeth. It also gives the patient a "test run". All I can suggest is that you do not allow the dentist to permanently bond in the permanent restorations unless you are completely happy with them when he tries them in.

This technique certainly is not how I do things, but it may turn out ok. I would suggest seeing the ceramist if it is an option.

We do most of our wax-ups in our office and only send them out to the lab in addition if the case is very complicated (due to spacing or occlusion issues).  If the temps were made in-house, it isn't necessarily an indicator as to how the permanents will come out.  Most temporaries are not going to look as aesthetic as the final porcelain veneers.  With that said, it could be an indicator of what type of cosmetic dentist you are dealing with.  Even our temps, made in-house, are made to look aesthetic and beautiful until the patient's final case comes in.  When the final case comes back from the lab, we do a try-in appointment with the patient to make sure the case fits, looks good, and most importantly, the patient is satisfied.  Make sure you are happy with the case before they permanently deliver it.  The office (if they are good) should handle all the correspondence with the lab and make sure your wishes are relayed into the case.  Once they deliver, you typically cannot make any changes unless it's at your own expense.  If you do not like any of the try-in's or the look of your final veneers, that may be an indicator that you should consult another cosmetic dentist before completing your case.  Hope this was helpful!