I had 8 porcelain veneers put on my upper front teeth on September 2012. I have a grinding issue, so I wear a guard at night. I fell asleep without the guard and cracked a veneer ( it was in my mouth- I almost swallowed it!). Do I have the right to ask to have it replaced free of charge?
\n– Shannon from Illinois<\/p>\n
Shannon,<\/p>\n
If you knew you have a grinding problem<\/a> and that you needed to wear the nightguard<\/a>, then the dentist is not legally obligated to replace the porcelain veneer<\/a>. Whether or not he or she feels an obligation will depend on your dentist.<\/p>\n If you were my patient, and the veneers are just two months old, I’d have mixed feelings about it. I’d probably go ahead and replace it, say, if you would just cover the laboratory charge, which would probably be about 1\/3 the cost. But I would let you know that the next time it would be the full cost.<\/p>\n And this depends, too, on what your dentist told you. If you were given strict instructions to always wear that nightguard when you sleep, and then you didn’t do that, well, it’s not anything the dentist can do to prevent. However, if nothing was said, then the dentist should fix it for free.<\/p>\n One added item about cracked porcelain veneers. It is possible to repair them. If the veneer split cleanly into two pieces so that the pieces fit together perfectly, it can be bonded back onto the tooth and the crack will be virtually undetectable. I have seen it done.<\/p>\n Dr. Hall<\/p>\n