Had Crown Lengthening/gum Lift and Am Now Waiting to Get 6 Feldspathic Veneers - Santa Barbara, CA

I still am very unhappy with the large black triangle gaps between both lateral incisors. The dentist thinks the tissue will fill in, but I am very doubtful and so far no changes. I just can't believe after so much anguish that I am still unhappy with the results. :(

A week ago, I had the second set of veneers cemented. Needless to say, again, I am not happy with the results. The same exact thing happened as with the previous dentist when I asked to examine the veneers for size, color, shape and fit before the final cementation. I assumed that he was going to use the try in paste, but he just laid them on and I got a brief 2 second glance before he starting the final cementation. The result is that again the teeth are too bright, opaque, one color and there are huge black triangular gaps between the lateral incisors. When I asked about the solid color, he said that it would have looked rather 2 toned if colors were shaded. I asked about the gaps and he said that the gaps will fill in. I highly doubt that the huge gaps will fill in. I wonder why he would go ahead and cement the veneers when he could clearly see the huge gaps. He should have rejected the two incisor veneers and had them remade. Most likely, I will have to have them redone, but will wait patiently for a few months to see if the gaps fill in.

The positive thing is that the shape, size and fit are great. The gum tissue is looking healthy and normal and I have no pain. He made the veneers a bit unperfect, as I requested because I didn't want that fake Hollywood smile. I want to mention that veneers in photos do not look anything like they do in real life. In photos, my veneers look good, but in real life, they look rather fake. I really didn't want a fake veneer look that people would notice. I now notice everyones's teeth and think that most veneers do not look that great. I can easily spot most veneers and wish that the outcome would be a more natural look.

My final thoughts are that yes, my teeth and smile do look better. However, I expected more of my expectations to have been met. I would rate my satisfaction as about 80%. I was really hoping for a 100% satisfaction rate. I am very upset about the huge gaps, but can live with the color.

My advice to anyone considering veneers is to think very seriously and unless you have to do it, DON'T. I had no choice because of the crown lengthening surgery and the terribly small misshapen teeth. I would suggest bonding first, before any veneering. This whole process has been very traumatic and I can't believe after 2 times, I still haven't gotten the results I wanted.

The removal of the old veneers was quite tedious and the grinding noise was rather unbearable. Thankfully, I was given earplugs to lessen the grinding noise. I had a fear that all of my teeth were going to be damaged from the veneer removal and I would have to have root canals done on all the previously veneered teeth. Luckily, the dentist did a great job and I didn't have much pain except for some sensitivity to hot and cold.

The redo of the crown lengthening was uneventful except for some gum tissue discoloration and swelling of my lips and mouth. I was concerned about the swelling of my lips because this did not happen in the previous gum surgery. My gums and tissue are healing nicely and now I have to wait another 3 months for the final veneers. Both the new Periodontist and Dentist seem very sympathetic to my situation and have been extremely communicative and pro active with my case. Currently, my biggest complaint is the color of the temporaries are too yellow. I have made this clear that I do not want this color as the finals.

The new dentist made the new temporaries smaller and shorter and they match much better with my other teeth. The new dentist has taken impressions every time I have been examined. The new veneers are $510 more than the first veneers and the crown lengthening re-do was $1695 in addition to the $7500 I previously paid. Fortunately I never paid for the first veneers. The veneer/crown lengthening saga has now been going on for almost a year. Thankfully, the new dentist made the temporaries very solid and strong so they will last for a few months until I am ready for the finals. Stay tuned, and wish me luck.