Dr. Hall,
I had porcelain veneers on my four front teeth #7,8,9,10. My teeth were very healthy but slightly unattractive. They all started to crumble and break within week. After failed attempts to glue them back together, I saw another dentist, who did six veneers, including my canines, #6 and 11. However this second set fractured the next day. I was told they were baked too long and the cracks did not appear until they were wet in my mouth.
These were replaced, however this third set is much longer and I now lisp. Also # 7 and #10 are rotated and stick out beyond #8 & 9. I never had misalignment before this. The second Dentist said he would replace the four front if I am not happy. I am not happy having over $6000. on my charge card. I wish I HAD MY TEETH BACK – THEY WEREN’T THAT BAD! I plan to have this done for the fourth time in Jan. Any advice? Also why do I lisp now – I never did before. Will it go away?
Thank You, Marilyn
a dental hygienist in New York
Dear Marilyn,
There has to be a reason that you keep ending up getting porcelain veneers from dentists who don’t know how to do them. Maybe someone has given you the idea that these are easy to do and any dentist can do them. Well, you’ve proven that wrong, haven’t you?
Even if a porcelain veneer cracks, none of the pieces will come off the tooth unless there is a problem in the bonding of them. They are very thin and aren’t strong at all by themselves. You can crush one in your fingers. It is the bond to the tooth that gives them their strength. I’ve seen cracked porcelain veneers stay on the teeth for months.
And you would never end up with porcelain veneers that are too long if you went to an expert cosmetic dentist. Dentists that love doing smile makeovers always have some mechanism for making sure that the appearance of porcelain veneers is pleasing to you before they are ever bonded on. Many of them will make a prototype set of veneers and place them before making the final ones. Others will use computer imaging combined with a try-in, or wax-ups, or other tools to make sure that you have a full chance to evaluate the appearance and feel of the veneers before they are finally bonded.
Yes, porcelain veneers that are too long, besides looking funny, could cause you to lisp. Also if they’re too thick.
And’s what’s this with four porcelain veneers and then six? A smile includes either eight or ten upper teeth. I hope you at least bleached your other teeth.
My advice to you? Bite the bullet and go to a true cosmetic dentist – one who makes his or her living doing smile makeovers and not one who does this as a sideline. Someone who has done this enough to be able to work out all the bugs. Someone who has such a passion for creating a beautiful smile that he or she will fly to courses all around the country to learn the best techniques from the masters in the field. These are the kinds of cosmetic dentists we have listed on our New York cosmetic dentists page.
When you go to such a cosmetic dentist to have these fixed, you will end up ecstatic about how your smile looks, so much so that you may smile continuously for about a week, so amazed at how beautiful your teeth look that you’ll be looking at them in your rear view mirror as you drive. That’s what we see with new smiles that are done right.
Dr. Hall
Related links:
Read about Invisalign invisible braces.
Be wary of Lumineers and GlamSmile.
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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