Dr. Hall,
I got 8 porcelain veneers about a month ago. I wasn’t impressed by the waxon models, but they promised that it would look better. Before they put veneers on, they let me look at them on my teeth without attaching them all the way. I didn’t like them at all. The shape is not what I expected them to have, color is almost stained, gaps are between every tooth along the gum line and some teeth just slightly touch and have gaps. The dentist said that we can put them on and see if I still don’t like them. Even now I am not happy with the result. Dentist told me that the lab person got kinda mad at him for listening to my complaints and it’s the best that can be done. But if I really-really wanted, I could start the whole process with the same cost. Is there anything I can do? And is it true that, if I don’t like the result, they are not required to fix it. Thank you very much for your time.
– Max from Colorado
Dear Max,
I’m not sure I’m hearing you right. It sounds like this dentist went to the trouble to make a wax simulation of what your porcelain veneers would look like, and you didn’t like it, but he went ahead and had them made anyway. And then, after the lab made them, they tried them on, and you still didn’t like them, but they bonded them on anyway. What was the point of the try-on? And what kind of dental laboratory technician would get mad at a dentist for listening to the complaints of a patient? The patient, after all, is ultimately paying the salary of both the dentist and the laboratory technician. The whole scenario you’re painting for me just seems weird.
One of the most prominent distinctions between a true cosmetic dentist and a general dentist who does cosmetic dentistry is that the true cosmetic dentist will always have procedures in place to make sure that you like the work before it is finally bonded on. It sounds like your dentist went through the motions of doing this, but without the intention of actually making you happy.
Unfortunately, you gave your implicit consent to the appearance of the porcelain veneers by allowing him to bond them on. And, with cosmetic dentistry, most of the dental profession doesn’t appreciate it at all, so the standard of care is that it needs to look only halfway decent and it needs to function okay. As long as your porcelain veneers function, I think you’re stuck.
Whatever you do, don’t have this guy re-do them. Either I am missing something fundamental in what you’re telling me or this guy doesn’t mean what he says. You have no assurance that the second time will be any better. In fact, you can pretty much count on it coming out the same.
There are some excellent cosmetic dentists in the Denver area. Check our list and go to one of those and see what they think.
Dr. Hall
Click here for referral to an expert cosmetic dentist near you
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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