I had six dental crowns placed about a month ago. They were not the white color I wanted, but the dentist assured me they were the whitest color available. With how white teeth are these days, I found that a bit surprising. But, he’d already bonded them in so what could I do. However, I am now finding that they are already picking up stains. I do drink coffee every day, but assumed that as long as I brushed my teeth, I’d be fine. I don’t know if teeth whitening will help this, but I’m pretty distraught about how things have turned out. My smile makeover has turned out to be a disaster. I think I need to see another dentist to get this redone, which is going to cost me a fortune…again. Is there any advice you can give me?
Ellie
Dear Ellie,
I am going to address the color first. It sounds like your general dentist is just that, your standard bread and butter dentist who does not do a lot of cosmetic work. If you look at the shade guide above, all the shades to the right of the small addition on the left are the shades dentists used for decades. When teeth whitening grew in popularity, those shades were no longer white enough. That is when that addition was made to the shade guide. You are probably looking for a BL1, the color all the way to the left. Your dentist may not even have known that was an option if he does not keep up with the cosmetic side of his field.
Even with that, he should not have bonded them in without you getting a good look at them and approving them. That was bad form on his part. If they are truly porcelain crowns, then they should not be picking up stains as they are, even with you drinking coffee. This tells me that something happened to the protective glaze on the porcelain. This can happen if a hygienist uses something like a power prophy jet or acidulate fluoride (as opposed to neutral fluoride) during your dental appointment. An office that doesn’t do a lot of cosmetic work may not understand how those tools can damage cosmetic work.
Teeth whitening will not work as a solution for this. First, it will only work on natural tooth structure. Second, with the damage to the crowns, they will just immediately begin picking up stains again. The good news is because they are damaged, you have a right to ask for at least a partial refund. These crowns have to be re-done. Don’t let them try to talk you into just letting them re-do them. They’re obviously not qualified. Tell them you’re looking for someone with more expertise in cosmetic work.
When you do go to the next dentist make sure they only do a temporary try-in with your crowns and do NOT bond them until you are completely satisfied with their color and appearance.
I hope this helps.
This blog is brought to tyou by Decatur, AL Dentists Drs. Drake and Wallace.