I recently had some porcelain crowns placed on my upper front teeth. I wasn’t exactly pleased because the color didn’t match my other teeth, so at a follow-up visit my dentist tried buffing them. After all that, they still don’t match, and what’s even worse is that they now look dull. They have no shine at all. When I called back about it, they said that was as close of a match as they could get and that I shouldn’t expect porcelain to look shiny like natural teeth. I’m afraid that I have made a mistake by not finding a true cosmetic dentist. I used this guy because my insurance would pay for it. — Mark
Mark,
There are a couple of issues here. First, porcelain should be shiny and look as much like your natural teeth as possible. Second, buffing not only made them look dull, but there is a more serious problem with this and that is the fact that your dentist buffed off the glaze and now your crowns are susceptible to staining and your teeth will only start to look worse as time goes on. The good news is that a cosmetic dentist can diamond polish them to restore the shine.
Whether or not you want your teeth fixed or you want them to look beautiful can only be determined by the dentist you choose and whether or not you are willing to pay for it. Unfortunately, choosing a dentist based on the fact that he or she is on an your insurance company’s approved list, will most often result in someone who is willing to cut corners and costs – an approach that just doesn’t make sense in the world of good cosmetic dentistry.
Since your dentist doesn’t seem to understand the issues he has caused, you should find an expert cosmetic dentist in your area who can bring back the shine to your teeth and make them look as good as possible.
This blog is brought to you by Dr. Alana Macalik. For more information on the services she provides, visit her Arlington cosmetic dentist website.