I went to my dentist hoping to get a smile makeover. I suggested Lumineers but my dentist told me that a lot of people end up not liking how they look. Instead, he wanted me to get something called 360 wrap veneers. He said they were better. One thing I was concerned with was the amount of tooth structure that would have to be taken off. They assured me that it wouldn’t be much. I received my temporaries. They were a bit of a problem where one of the teeth fell out three times. They said that would not happen with the permanent ones. This week, however, after getting my permanent veneers, one of them fell out. In addition, my real tooth is a little nub. I feel like I’ve been misled and now am stuck with teeth that may not stay in. My daughter’s wedding is coming up and terrified one of my teeth are going to fall out and ruin anything. Do you have a recommendation?

Carol

Dear Carol,

I’m going to start by just saying how sorry I am you are having to go through this. The one thing I do agree with your dentist about is Lumineers. This is just one brand of porcelain veneers, but it is a brand mostly marketed to inexperienced cosmetic dentists as being easy to place because the tooth doesn’t need any tooth preparation. Unfortunately, that means the teeth often end up looking bulky. Some people have described the results as having horse teeth.

Your best option is to get a different dentist to solve this. You’ve not only been misled, but the dentist was incompetent on top of all of that. The first thing you should know is there is not such a thing as 360 wrap veneers. Porcelain veneers only go on the front of your teeth. Do you know what does wrap around your teeth, though? Dental crowns. This is the go-to for dentists who have not invested in cosmetic dentistry training and are trying to steer you away from porcelain veneers.

When your teeth are prepped for veneers, very little tooth structure is removed, as you can see from the image on the top left. The opposite is true of dental crowns, which requires a great deal more tooth to be removed because the entirety of the tooth needs to be surrounded. Your dentist flat out lied to you when he told you that not much tooth structure would be removed. That says something about his integrity.

As for his skill, that doesn’t seem to be much better. Properly placing a dental crown is one of the first things a dentist learns to do in dental school. Most dentists go their entire careers without having a crown fall out. Your dentist can’t seem to keep them in. My suggestion is to ask for a refund and then find a skilled cosmetic dentist to redo these before your daughter’s wedding. Find a skilled cosmetic dentist, preferably one who is AACD accredited.

This blog is brought to you by La Jolla Cosmetic Dentist Dr. Stephen Doan.

I recently had a tooth extracted. It was one of the worst experiences of my life. It took  12 shots for the dentist to get me numb. Now it is five days after the procedure and I have this bone spur that zaps me mercilessly. I know I should go back to the dentist to get this dealt with but after the last visit, I’m not sure I can. What do you recommend?

CallieAnn

Dear CallieAnn,

I can understand your hesitation in going back to the dentist. Once you have a traumatic experience at the dentist iit can be a terrifying idea to go back. I think I can help. It is very likely the reason you had so much trouble getting numb in the first place is due to some anxiety you were feeling about the procedure.

There are still quite a few dentists who don’t yet know about the connection between anxiety and the effectiveness of the numbing medication. Essentially, the higher the anxiety, the less effective your Novocaine will be. The fact that it took twelve shots tells me you had some fear going in. That is totally normal. The good news is there is a solution. You are not condemned to needing endless shots every time you go to the dentist.

I am going to suggest you see a sedation dentist. This is not a specialty. It is simply a dentist who offers dental sedation options. There are usually different levels of sedation. Given your recent experiences, I am going to suggest you use oral conscious sedation. This will completely relax you. In fact, you will be so relaxed you can sleep through your appointment if you’d like. Because of this, some people call it sleep dentistry. It is administered by swallowing a pill. The only real downside is you will need someone to drive you to and from your appointment as well as stay with you for a few hours after until you are completely lucid and steady on your feet.

This blog is brought to you by La Jolla Dentist Dr. Stephen Doan.
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