Dr. Hall,
I got 8 veneers in December of 2010. My gums continued to be tender and slightly inflamed for several weeks and I asked my dentist if this was normal. He looked at my gums and told me I just wasn’t flossing my teeth with good enough technique, and that was why my gums were inflamed.
Then at the beginning of March, I noticed a fistula above tooth #10 so I contacted my dentist immediately. He took x-rays at that time and told me I have a root canal and needed it treated ASAP. He brought another dentist into his office to do the root canal treatment, so I assumed that the dentist was an endodontist. The root canal treatment took 4 hours and my gums remained inflamed for 3 weeks (fistula still there). When I went back to the dentist with my concern, he then told me I needed an apicoectomy. At this point I asked if the dentist who had performed the failed root canal treatment was an endodontist, and when I found out it was a general dentist I decided to seek out a second opinion from someone else.
I went to Dr. —– (a dentist on the mynewsmile.com referral list), who has referred me to an endodontist who is “the best.” Dr. —– told me that most likely the area will heal on its own and there is no need for an apicoectomy. He said my gums were inflamed because there was cement on the veneers that was causing my gums to stay chronically inflamed! After Dr. —– scraped that cement off, it has only been a few days and already my gums are less tender than they’ve been in months.
Now I’m really concerned that some major mistakes were made with my veneers because the dentist did no wax-up and was not able to address any of my concerns with the esthetic look of the veneers after the procedure. (One tooth appears chipped, and the dentist told me it was “just the anatomy of the tooth.” Another tooth feels like it is cracked. And I’m not completely sure if the teeth are all completely vertical because they look slightly slanted or off-centered. They definitely look better than my teeth looked before getting the veneers, but I can’t say that look perfect or absolutely stunning. They just look like normal teeth.)
Basically, I want my money back for what he did to my teeth! It sounds like he was negligent in leaving concrete on the veneers, which caused my gums to remain inflamed. And then he did NOTHING when I told him that my gums were red, sore, and inflamed until it was too late. And then he was negligent again by bringing a general dentist into his practice to perform a root canal. According to Dr. —–, the x-rays show that the dentist did an “overfill” on the root of tooth #10 and this was why he was wanting to do an apicoectomy. Is there anything I can do to get my money back for these chipped, cracked veneers which caused me to have a root canal?
Jamie from Southern California
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Jamie,
You have quite the interesting story. You’re a good example for people looking for smile makeovers – showing the need for an expert cosmetic dentist. I wish I had money to run ads on TV warning about that.
When you told me your dentist’s answer to your gum inflammation was that you should floss more, I knew you were in trouble. For anyone doing porcelain veneers, this is a huge red flag and is a big indication that the dentist did something wrong. One of the criteria I use to evaluate the cosmetic dentistry of dentists I list on this website is the health of the gums in the “after” photographs – they should be at least as healthy afterwards as they were before, if the work is done right.
Here’s the deal for your case. To get any satisfaction, you’re going to have to be willing to make the dentist worry that you’ll be trouble for him. I’m sorry to have to put it that way, but I’m basing this on the way he has treated each of your complaints so far – dismissive, not truthful. He needs to worry that this could turn into a peer review case, or could get to the dental board, or could result in a malpractice action. And if you can get him worried about this, that is what will motivate him to refund your money.
And then you need to realize that your esthetic complaints won’t go very far. Since cosmetic dentistry isn’t a legally recognized specialty, the standard of care for esthetic work is the level of quality that would be expected of an average dentist, which is pretty low.
But you do have two areas of common negligence – the cement left behind, which caused gingivitis, and the root canal overfill. Both of these caused pain and suffering, and have threatened the health of your teeth. So you need to let him know that you are aware of these problems, and also let him know that you have another dentist to back you up on these claims. If you were to bring an action against this dentist, having another dentist willing to testify to the negligence is necessary. I wouldn’t reveal the name at this point, but I would let him know that you have that “arrow in your quiver.” And the fact that a general dentist did the root canal is not of itself a problem. Many general dentists do great work with root canal treatments, especially on front teeth, which are pretty easy. But there does seem to be an issue of competence with the dentist taking four hours to do a root canal that should have taken half an hour.
So I would tell this dentist that you have been to an expert cosmetic dentist, a dentist of international prominence, who told you that he had been negligent, but that you want to make it easy for him, so all you’re asking for at this point is a refund.
I hope this is helpful.
I’d be interested to know how this turns out. Please write back and let me know your next step and what your dentist says.
Links:
Click here for a referral to a cosmetic dentist.
Click here to ask the dentist a question.
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.
Can you bleach porcelain veneers?
I had a new way to explain an answer I gave to a Stacy in Missouri, several years ago. She e-mailed me about the shade of her porcelain veneers. She explained that she had decided to get porcelain veneers for her four front teeth and asked her family dentist to do that for her. She was concerned about getting the shade right, because her teeth were bleached. The dentist produced a shade tab that he said was the whitest shade available. She was skeptical, but let him go ahead.
The final result left her very disappointed and self-concious. She said that the veneers were at least an entire shade, maybe more, darker than her own teeth.
She asked me if she could bleach her porcelain veneers. Unfortunately, they don’t bleach. They’ll have to be re-done.
The problem here is the insensitivity of the dentist to esthetic issues. This is an important issue, and goes to the vast differences between dentists when it comes to cosmetic dentistry.
Porcelain veneers can be any color, as white as you want. Much whiter, even, than bleached teeth. But I have had e-mails where this has happened to patients. The dentist is so tuned out on esthetic issues that he doesn’t realize that the bleached teeth are much whiter. The dentist isn’t a bad dentist. Some of them are excellent. But he or she is a “fixer”, not an artist. He or she looks at the teeth, sees they’re pretty white, and so goes to his shade guide to write the prescription. He thinks: “They taught in dental school that B1 is the whitest shade, or was it A1? OK, we’ll ask for B1. That’s pretty white.” He doesn’t have the supplemental shade guide for bleached teeth that goes 4 shades whiter than B1. He may not even know it exists. And if he takes the trouble to hold the shade guide up to the teeth, he thinks, “That’s close enough.” This is what we’re dealing with in the case of a majority of dentists, unfortunately. And the fraction of dentists that are REALLY tuned in to esthetics is even smaller, like 1-2% that I would say are capable of creating a truly beautiful smile makeover.
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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.
Unhappy with Lumineers
Just two days ago I took my daughter in to have some Lumineers put on, first four teeth on the top. Prior to this she had braces to fix her teeth, and close in as many spaces as they could. We were told that the Lumineers were the least invasive and would close the gaps and be better than using bonding to fill them in. When talking with the dentist earlier, we saw a picture of before and after from the Lumineer book and said that we wanted them to be more tapered and not square, similar to the picture. They said they would take care of it and let us know when they came in.
When I asked if we could see them first before going on they said yes, but the way they did this was not the way they said they would. She had them in her mouth with some kind of temp material and her mouth was pulled back with a rubber device that really was hard to tell what was going on, and I couldn’t get a good view of them. Earlier they said she could get up and walk around with them in different lights, but this never happened. He assured us that it would look better when they are put on permanently.
I realized right away how big they appeared compared to her other teeth and how bulky they looked. I asked if there was something they could do to taper them, but he said to live with it for a week and see how we feel. I approached this again, and said how big they looked in the front, but they kept telling us how perfect they were. I felt like we were in shock and didn’t know what to say.
So, at home we really could see that these did not fit her face or her other teeth. They were large, straight across and she seemed to be having trouble talking and closing her mouth. Bottom line is that we are very unhappy.
The next day she went to school and the poor girl got teased, horribly. The kids comments were, horse teeth, they look fake, and the nice kids would say, they are nice but too perfect and big.
I see now, after the fact, that you really do need a cosmetic dentist. He claims to do cosmetic work, but when I checked out further, he is a general dentist. I called today and they are going to tapper them more, and they should look a lot better. But now I’m afraid of what the integrity will be. We could try this, but I think we just want them off and be refunded, so we can see a cosmetic dentist. What do you think is our best approach so we can do this without legal matters? We paid by credit card and we are not going through the insurance.
Thanks,
Cindy – Not happy in Oregon
Cindy,
I think there is a decent chance you could get money back to get this fixed right, if you go about this the right way.
I don’t know this dentist you’re talking about, so I’m judging this by what you are telling me. But it certainly sounds like you are right, and you have a dentist there who simply lacks the passion for appearance-related dentistry that you need for a case like this. An excellent cosmetic dentist would have been able to predict that these teeth would end up looking bulky. That is what Lumineers do. Also, an excellent cosmetic dentist would never have rushed through the try-in process, and would not have pooh-poohed your concerns when you first expressed them. He would not have said they will look better when they are put on permanently, and would not have asked you to live with them for a week and then see how you feel. All of these are attempts to brush aside your dissatisfaction.
One of the fundamental differences between dentists who are “fixers” and not artists is that the artists are very sensitive to your opinion of the appearance of their work, and they will deal with even the slightest hint of dissatisfaction.
A problem in dealing with a patient’s dissatisfaction with the appearance of dental work is that the standard of care for dental work involves primarily the function of the work, so it is difficult to get restitution simply because you are unhappy with the appearance. But your complaint is more than just that you don’t like how it looks – you were deceived about how the process would work, and the biggest thing is that you must have told them you didn’t want them to be put on – because you told me that they tried to assuage your concerns by telling you they would look better once they were on permanently – which isn’t true. Plus the embarrassment suffered by your daughter is very real and very documentable.
You say you want to get this resolved without involving lawyers. To do this, however, you will be most effective if you tell them that is your intention, while letting them know that you understand the strength of your position if you actually were to go that route. Here’s how I would proceed.
First, I wouldn’t have them do any more work on this. Wherever you are in the process, stop right now. Not only will this help your case, but it is more fair to them. The less chair time they waste on this, the lower their costs are. Plus that way you are making the strongest statement about your dissatisfaction.
Second, I would be very clear about your dissatisfaction, that you were led on and that you were told things that weren’t true. I would also be clear about the embarrassment being suffered by your daughter. These are your bargaining chips.
Third, you need to enlist the help of another dentist who will be sympathetic and who will go to bat for you, and be the person who will get you the deal from this dentist. Dentists are very conscious of their reputations with other professionals, so the other dentist will be in a little better position than you are to get this done.
I would suggest going to a dentist from out of town, because they would be more likely to take your side on this issue. Find an excellent cosmetic dentist on our list, and go see them for an opinion, and ask what they would be willing to do to help you get a refund of this procedure,
Also, if you haven’t yet paid the credit card charge for this procedure, I would tell the dentist that you intend to lodge a complaint with the credit card company and refuse to pay that bill unless you get a refund. This gives you one more avenue of protection, because the credit card company may be persuaded to take your side in a dispute over the charge.
I wish you well. I feel for your daughter. School mates can be cruel.
Dr. Hall
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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.
Perfectly matching a crown on a front tooth
Dr. Hall,
I recently got a porcelain veneer crown on a tooth that I chipped when I was 10 years old. The first permanent crown that was put on did not match my other teeth, so I had to get it redone. I just got my 2nd one put on and after everyone in the office said it looked great, the color is still off and it is darker than my other teeth. I know a perfect match is difficult, but I would rather it be whiter than darker because that would be less noticeable. I was wondering if I were to get the crown redone again, if this would have any long term side effects on what is left of my tooth underneath my crown? Please let me know what advice you can offer and if it would be safe for me to try to get another crown remade.
– Kyle in Ohio
Kyle,
I’m not sure what you mean by a porcelain veneer crown. I think you may be referring to a porcelain fused to metal crown – because that has a metal foundation and has porcelain veneered over the metal. To get the best match to a natural tooth, it’s best to use an all-porcelain crown, because that can be made to have the same translucency as a natural tooth. But if your dentist hasn’t brought up doing an all-porcelain crown, then I wouldn’t mention it. That’s a recipe for trouble if you start pushing a dentist out of his or her comfort zone – rarely will they admit to a patient that they’re uncomfortable with a newer technology.
And yes, it is possible to get a perfect match on a single front tooth, so that you couldn’t tell, even at very close range, any difference between the crown and the other natural tooth. But this requires extra training and talent that most dentists don’t have. This is why I publish this website – to help people find excellent cosmetic dentists that can do this work.
Dentists generally choose that field because they like to work with their hands and they like to fix things. So they approach things from an engineering mentality. They aren’t good at subtleties of color. And tooth color is very complex. There is a lot of variation in all the colors that are within a single tooth – from the gumline to the biting edge there is a color gradient, plus there are spots where the color is slightly different. Add to this that tooth enamel is fairly translucent and the dentin underneath it is only partially translucent. So matching a tooth gets very complex.
When everyone in the dental office was trying to tell you that this tooth matches so great, that to me is a big red flag. Really good cosmetic dentists don’t act that way – they listen to the patient. So when we would try on a crown, we would ask the patient what they thought. I would pay close attention if there was any hesitation on the part of the patient, and I would insist that they be happy with the result. I would never tell a patient that a tooth or a smile looked great if they didn’t think so. And for a single front tooth, even for an excellent cosmetic dentist, it may be three or four try-ins before the lab would nail the color exactly.
On the other part of your question, it shouldn’t hurt the tooth at all to do this again, as long as the dentist knows what they are doing and is reasonably careful. But don’t try this with a general or family dentist. I would say that about one dentist in maybe fifty or a hundred could do this well.
– Dr. Hall
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.
An impending Lumineers disaster – mynewsmile.com to the rescue!
Jason from California wrote to me two days ago saying that he was going to pay for fixing his nephew’s teeth, but his nephew wanted to do Lumineers, and he was worried about that. I warned him about Lumineers, about their limitations. He wrote back and said the following, and sent a photograph of his nephew, and I commented back. This is truly an impending Lumineers disaster. Hopefully we can help out here.
Dr. Hall,
You are amazing. Thanks so much for the quick response. I’m going to convince my nephew to see one of the dentists you recommend.
Also, I’m attaching a photo of my nephew so you may see his teeth.
The dentist wanting the $18,000 for eighteen Lumineers is… (name deleted).
Again, Dr. Hall, thank you very much for your guidance.
– Jason from California
Jason,
Thanks for sending that info – the photo and the name of the dentist he wants to see.
Red flags here all over the place.
His teeth definitely need work. What I told you before would apply to his case – it would be a choice between traditional porcelain veneers and Invisalign – assuming we are ruling out traditional orthodontics because of the time factor and the discomfort. Looking at his lower teeth, they could also use work, so what I said about just bleaching them may not work that well. But the idea of doing Lumineers on them isn’t too good of an idea, either. Depending on a bite analysis and the x-rays, you may want to do a combination of porcelain veneers on the upper, Invisalign on the lower, or some other variation.
This is absolutely NOT a case for Lumineers. The reason for doing Lumineers rather than traditional porcelain veneers is to avoid having to prepare the teeth. That technique may be okay for teeth that are maybe a little short, that are reasonably straight, that maybe have gaps between them. What he has is just the opposite. The lower teeth are crowded. The upper right canine is sticking out too far. There is no way to get a decent result with this with porcelain veneers without shaving off the parts of the teeth that are sticking out. If he is serious about an acting career, this could be one way to really kill that career – with a phony-looking smile that ends up changing the way he speaks and disrupting his speech. I have had e-mails from Lumineers patients who have ended up getting their upper lip caught on their teeth now, or have ended up with a lisp or dry mouth because the Lumineers have made the teeth too bulky and they end up getting in the way of their tongue or lips or make it so they can’t close their teeth all the way.
And it was very interesting looking at the website of this dentist your nephew wants to go to. This dentist, Dr. [blank], says he’s a member of the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry. However, checking the AACD membership records, he has only been a member for one year, which indicates that he would like to know more about cosmetic dentistry, but doesn’t have a lot of training yet. His CV is lacking any indication of any serious post-graduate training in cosmetic dentistry so far. And then the smile gallery photographs illustrating Lumineers are mostly from the Lumineers brochure, and don’t illustrate his own work. I called his office to get the details on this. There are a couple of photos of his own work on the website, but the esthetic and functional quality of that work, in my opinion, is poor.
Your nephew could definitely benefit from some guidance here. He is about to be supremely disappointed if he goes through with this Lumineers idea with this dentist. This is not an easy case. You need a dentist with strong expertise in cosmetic dentistry and with integrity.
– Dr. Hall
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.
How NOT to get great dental care
I had an e-mail exchange with a woman named Ann. I don’t want to give too many details so I don’t reveal her identity, but I thought this last back and forth would be instructive. If you sense some frustration on my part, your perception is accurate. I was frustrated because what I had said in my earlier e-mail didn’t seem to impact her at all.
She had written to me in early December for help in asking what the best implants are made of and what the best dentures are made of. In my answer, I told her that the question is not as simple as she is making it sound. The best implant fixtures aren’t distinguished by the material they are made of but the care and precision in making them. Also, most dentists leave the materials research on denture bases to the dental laboratory, and they know by experience which dental laboratories they can trust for good information and quality workmanship.
I also gave her a warning about trying to take to herself the decision about materials. I told her that the way to get the best materials was to communicate to the dentist that’s what they want, to be willing to pay a little extra, to ask some probing questions, but then to, in the end, trust the dentist’s recommendations.
Here’s how she responded to that:
I never received a response since my last e-mail. I need to know the best implant materials because after I invest thousands of dollars a dentist will state, “I didn’t know you wanted the best.” It is crucial I know the best implant materials. I can no longer afford slip shod dentistry monetarily or medically.
Trust is a great motivator but honesty & integrity are also important.
How can I be assured I am getting the best?
Money is no object.
Thank you
Ann
Ann,
You’re going to continue to get slip-shod dentistry unless you change your approach. If you focus on micro-managing the dentist, you will get slip-shod dentistry.
Get the best dentist and you’ll get the best treatment. But if you micro-manage the dentist’s decision, he or she will not want to see you.
The best implant dentists will be fellows and diplomates in the American Academy of Implant Dentistry and in the International Congress of Oral Implantologists. Go to the ICOI website, and I believe they have lists of the dentists with these high credentials. Not all great implant dentists will pursue these credentials, so this isn’t an exclusive list, but those on the list have proven their expertise.
But I fear that if you had one of these top dentists, you wouldn’t like him or her because they wouldn’t want to play your game where you grill them about materials and want to pick the fixtures and all those other little details that you would like to manage. So you’ll walk out. And you’ll end up with a dentist who does play your game, and he or she will be just another in the line of shoddy dentists that somehow attract you. I’ve been on the receiving end of these micro-managing patients, and I can tell you from repeated experience that this is how it works.
There are people who are able to get excellent dental care and who seem to be able to find the best dentists. But they select their dentists on the basis of the dentist’s results, not with all this research where they try to take over the decision of the choice of materials or laboratories, etc.
Dr. Hall
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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.
Should I get Lumineers or Porcelain Veneers?
Hi Dr. Hall, I have been meaning to get my teeth fixed for about a year now but I am still not sure as to which procedure to get done. I have irregular teeth two of my front teeth are badly shaped one is very thin and has a triangular shape and the other one pretty much looks like a broken tooth. I have been thinking about getting either lummineers or veneers but dont know which would be best. I have heard lummineers crack easily and i went to a cosmetic dentist and he recomended veneers beacuse my teeth are already worn down so they would not have to ground them down much but I am still not sure as to which would benefit me most in concerns to durability. This procedure is very expensive and I am still saving up for it so I want to spend my money wisely and not have to go back to fix more problems which would mean spending more money. If you can please advise me as to which of the two would be a better choice concerning not only the look but most important the durability and which in your opinion can give more problems. thank you.
– Joyce from Florida
Joyce,
I’m going to suggest that you change your frame of mind in “shopping” for a new smile. This isn’t a product like a pair of shoes that you buy and it doesn’t matter where you buy it. This is a work of art and you’re hiring an artist to create it for you. Let’s say a community group asked you to commission a painting for the lobby of a local concert hall. Would you start by picking out the brand of paint to be used and the type of brush? Of course not. But that’s how it sounds like you’re approaching this new smile.
Lumineers is simply one brand of porcelain veneers. So asking whether to get Lumineers or porcelain veneers is like asking whether you should buy a Chrysler or a car. Lumineers is one of many brands of porcelain veneers.
There is a very big difference from one dentist to the next on how well they do with smile makeovers. Some dentists are exquisitely talented at this and they attract movie stars and models who fly to see them from across the country. And then there are many dentists who have no concept of beauty, and I could show you the e-mails I have received from patients who are literally in tears because their “cosmetic dentistry” that they paid thousands of dollars for is ugly. Here’s the deal: dentists pick this field because they like to fix things. 98% of them have an engineering mentality, and they simply aren’t artistic.
Start by picking the cosmetic dentist. And you’re going to have to delve a little deeper than simply that the dentist claims to be a cosmetic dentist. The reason I operate this website is to help steer patients to dentists who are true artists and can do beautiful work. There are a number of dentists who are capable of doing beautiful cosmetic dentistry beyond the handful who treat the movie stars, and that’s the kind of dentists I list on this website. It’s about one out of every fifty dentists who is artistic enough to create a beautiful smile. And the whole reason for this website is that I try to teach people that, and then I research the dentists and ask for photos of their work and I tell the website visitors who those dentists are.
A word about the Lumineers brand. Many excellent cosmetic dentists refuse to do Lumineers. They are strong enough, but they tend to be somewhat opaque and pasty-looking. Plus, because they are a trademarked brand, the dentist has to send them to the Lumineers laboratory in Santa Maria, California, and many excellent cosmetic dentists feel that lab doesn’t produce truly beautiful results. So the best you can get with the Lumineers brand is maybe a “B” smile, even with a great cosmetic dentist. That might be good enough for you. But the little secret is that usually you can get an “A” smile for the same fee or maybe just a little more, like $1100 per tooth instead of $1000.
You said that you went to a cosmetic dentist. I’m wondering how you know that he is a cosmetic dentist. I hope you have more to go on than just that’s how the practice was advertised. You can’t count on that. Cosmetic dentistry is an unregulated field – you don’t need any special training to be able to announce yourself as a cosmetic dentist.
My advice is, before you spend all your money and then write me another e-mail a year from now asking what to do now that you hate your new smile – spend a little more time on this. Get a second opinion from one of the cosmetic dentists on our list. I’m guessing from your area code that Dr. Jose Abadin is probably closest to you, but there are others you could check out. Go to our Florida page, pick one you think you’d be comfortable with, and spend some time picking a great cosmetic dentist. If you do that, everything else will fall into place.
And about the durability – actually even that is mostly dependent on the dentist and the techniques used rather than the material. All porcelains are very hard, but they are somewhat brittle. They get their strength from bonding them to the tooth. When Lumineers crack, it is usually because they weren’t bonded properly.
Dr. Hall
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.
A putrid smell in my mouth, after getting 28 crowns.
Sir i got all my 28 teeth replaced with crowns for the purpose of teeth lengthening. Upper & lower molars(8) of Porcelain fused to Metal. Premolars of Zirconia(8). Incisors & canine (12)of Empress. And now after 2 months from the procedure done am having very much bad breath that its very much difficult to live with and even to breathe, and it tastes like vomit. Still after using mouthwash and brushing twice a day its not helpful and the smell is as it is. even i got done scaling but still the smell and taste of the teeth remains. Please tell me some solution that can be done now to get rid of this as its too much difficult to live like this. i am really helpless. And also tell me is it was right for the teeth lengthening??
– Ogas in India
Dear Ogas,
There is something very wrong with your dental work. It my days of practice, I had several occasions to replace dental work done in other countries, and I frequently found poor dentistry with overhangs that would catch food or other basic defects.
The materials your dentist used sound first class. But if there are overhangs on all the crowns, that could produce the putrid smell that you’re experiencing. I can’t tell if that’s the case. There are other possibilities.
If this problem is allowed to remain, it will likely lead to gum disease and early loss of your teeth.
There are excellent dentists throughout the world. But I believe the consensus among the world’s dentists is that there is no place that has as high standards for dental care as the United States. So what I would look for would be a dentist in India with some credentials from an international organization based in the United States. A couple examples of that would be accreditation or some other credential from the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry (There are two accredited members of the AACD in Mumbai, India, and several accreditation candidates in the country), or fellowship or diplomate status with the International Congress of Oral Implantologists. There may be other credentials. I would track down a dentist with a credential like that and go there for an opinion on your case. Go to the website of the specific organization and they usually have a search tool for finding a credentialed member.
– Dr. Hall
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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.
Do cosmetic dentists do other procedures?
Hi Dr Hall,
I am looking for a dentist in the Seattle area and am doing some research before I choose one. I came across your site and am thrilled to find all this great comsumer information, thank you! However the dentist that you recommend in Seattle, I can not locate any kind of reviews or testimonials for him, nor can I find him on the list of America’s Top Dentists.
I would like to hear other patient’s opinions about their experience with him but cannot locate any of this through the internet. Any suggestions? Also do these cosmetic dentists that you recommend typically do other general procedures like root canal etc.?
Thanks for your help.
Brenda
Brenda,
From your question, I think that maybe you don’t understand what our website is. We recommend COSMETIC dentists. That is very different from recommending dentists. Do you need a dentist for general dentistry, or do you need a smile makeover or other anterior work?
When we recruit dentists for our website, I study their credentials as far as cosmetic dentistry training, and we check photographs of their work. That is what is required in order for me to be able to assure visitors to our website that they will get beautiful work done at the hands of these dentists. While we try to get a sense of the office friendliness and chairside manner, and those do factor into our decisions about who to recommend, those aren’t primary considerations. And no, often dentists who are really passionate about appearance-related dentistry do not do root canal treatments, though sometimes they do. But they always do basic dentistry, such as cleanings, checkups, and fillings. And while they are always highly skilled, and they are often warm and understanding, they are not chosen on the basis of their warmth.
Some might accuse me of poor salesmanship to say this, but to be absolutely honest with you, I would tell you that if all you want is a general dentist – if you don’t have any appearance concerns – then this isn’t the right website for you.
As far as reviews, they are helpful for some situations but aren’t the answer if you’re looking for excellent cosmetic dentistry, and let me explain two reasons why this is true. First of all, I have dentists that I know very well, and I’ve seen their work, and it is magnificent, but I have seen that they occasionally get bad reviews from people on the Internet. Some patients might think the dentist is too expensive or too high class. And every dentist runs into a wack-o patient or two that they can’t please no matter how hard they try, and so they throw up their hands, ask them to go elsewhere, and end up with a very irate patient. While the vast majority of their patients are very pleased, some aren’t, and they can be the source of bad reviews.
And while patient reviews are helpful, patients rarely have the expertise to compare one dentists aesthetic skills with another. I have met patients who thought their dentist did okay on their smile makeover, only because they didn’t know how beautiful their smile could have been. So that’s why I think our site is indispensible if you are looking for cosmetic dentistry services and why patient reviews simply aren’t your best source of information for that purpose. But if you are just looking for a dentist, then you don’t need those credentials, and I would just go to the reviews where you will get a good measure of the dentist’s likability, the friendliness of the office, etc., which are all valid considerations for choosing a general dentist.
America’s Top Dentists is not necessarily that reliable. I don’t know how they pick the dentists they list. I know they don’t conduct examinations of the dentists’ work.
I hope this is helpful.
Dr. Hall
Links you may want to check out:
Read about the difference between an artistic cosmetic dentist and an excellent general dentist.
Click here for referral to a cosmetic dentist, screened for artistic ability and cosmetic dentistry training.
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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.
How does a dentist get listed on mynewsmile.com?
Hello,
I was wondering how you determine/identify the Doctors listed in your referral page. Do they apply to be listed or do you have prior knowledge of their reputation and skills? I am in need of a dental implant and am exploring services in the Austin TX area. All of my top teeth are crowned (1994) so I also need someone with the skill to restore my smile by matching the new crown to the rest of my teeth.
Thank you,
Ann from Texas
Ann,
The listings we have sometimes come from dentists whose reputation I know through my association with the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry or other cosmetic dentists. Sometimes dentists approach me, and most of those requests are turned down. In the case of Austin, where you are, I didn’t know Dr. Sweeney, but found his name on a list of dentists that I have access to – dentists who had passed the written examinations for accreditation with the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry. While this speaks of his knowledge, it doesn’t speak of his ability to apply that knowledge. So I checked out close-up photographs of his work to verify his skill, and examined his other credentials. His work was beautiful. I have since met him at a dental meeting.
There are a number of listing services on the Internet that list dentists. However, I have taken the risk of personally recommending any dentist I list, so I check them out to make sure I am comfortable with the dentistry they do. I am not aware of any other website that actually recommends dentists the way I do, and it’s a matter of personal integrity to me that the dentists listed meet high standards. I am confident that Dr. Sweeney, whom I recommend in Austin, has first class artistic ability and does excellent dentistry. So you are in good hands if you go there.
I do publish a disclaimer that is linked from every page in the referral section, to protect me legally. Ultimately, it is the responsibility of the Boards of Dentistry in each of their respective states, to protect the public from incompetent dentistry. I’m not intending to take their place in that role. And the recommendations are my opinion, not my guarantee. I am not in a position to be able to insure that no dentist I list will ever make a mistake. But in my educated and informed professional opinion, the dentists I list are all excellent.
I hope this helps.
– Dr. Hall
Links:
Click here for referral to a top cosmetic dentist.
Click here to visit our Texas cosmetic dentists page.
Read more about smile makeovers.
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.