I just had lumineers done on my top six teeth. A while ago I had some composite applied to my two front teeth to cover staining from previous bonding. I told this dentist that as a result, these two teeth were bulkier than my normal teeth and I felt we should correct for that. Also, both my insicors are very bulk and I had hope this would be correct as well. She told me that we would make impressions and that the people from lumineers would know excatly what to do. After four week, I went back for new impressions but this time she was given instruction to shave a little off of the side of the one front tooth. Then a new impression was done. I just went in yesterday for my case and I been crying ever since. My teeth look like horses teeth and don’t even fit my face. The before and after test pictures they took before all of the dosen’t even come close. I had to argue with then to shave the length as they know extended over my bottom lip which has never been the case. I have such a pronounced over bite now, the top teeth come to the middle top edge of my lower lip. The told me I would get used to the feeling and that the muscles in my upper lip would adjust? I want these removed and a refund but I do not know how to approach this. I have waiting so long for this! and hav e spent a tone of money. I can’t stop crying.
– Anna from Georgia
Anna,
You’re another in a long string of victims of general dentists who don’t know much about cosmetic dentistry but yet try to do smile makeovers.
My first clue was the naive comment by your dentist that, “The people from Lumineers would know exactly what to do.” Two comments about that. First, it is the dentist who is supposed to know what to do and is supposed to tell the laboratory what to do. Second, the Lumineers laboratory is not one of your excellent esthetic dental laboratories. They do NOT know exactly what to do.
But then you have a problem that legally, you don’t have a recourse if the Lumineers are functional. Cosmetic dentistry is not a legally distinct specialty, so it is judged by the standards of general dentistry. The overwhelming majority of dentists are not artistic, so the governing philosophy in the profession is that if the teeth are functional, they are okay. So you’re not going to get support for your complaints.
So, as far as I can tell, what you’re left with is to try to persuade this dentist to refund your money, with sweet talk, flattery, or whatever you can. Unless there is something gross that was done.
Do you have a photograph of your teeth that you can send me? If I can see anything wrong functionally with the teeth, there may be more you can do. Maybe a photograph of just the teeth and a photograph of your face with the teeth showing the mismatch you’re talking about.
Thanks,
Dr. Hall
Links: Lumineers problems.
And we just added a page to mynewsmile where we are soliciting Reviews of Lumineers.
About David A. Hall
Dr. David A. Hall was one of the first 40 accredited cosmetic dentists in the world. He practiced cosmetic dentistry in Iowa, and in 1990 earned his accreditation with the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry. He is now president of Infinity Dental Web, a company in Mesa, Arizona that does advanced internet marketing for dentists.
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