Did I just make a huge mistake?!
Question: One of my front teeth is discolored from a childhood accident. The nerve calcified and it has gotten darker over the years. Other than that, I have a great smile and the rest of my teeth are perfect. I really wanted to fix that tooth, so I went the veneer route.
Last week I got prepped and I went in for my veneer today and I was mortified. It looked SO fake next to my other teeth. I know that others have told me that if you're doing one tooth in the front, you should do BOTH front teeth, but I didn't want to destroy a perfectly good tooth next to the dark one. However, I'm starting to think that I have to.
He's willing to work with me on this and he even brought the lab tech over to talk with me (on a moment's notice). And even if he does get this right, I can't imagine the nightmare I'll have to go through if or when I'll have to get it replaced.
What should I do?
Answers: One of my front teeth is discolored from a childhood accident. The nerve calcified and it has gotten darker over the years. Other than that, I have a great smile and the rest of my teeth are perfect. I really wanted to fix that tooth, so I went the veneer route.
Last week I got prepped and I went in for my veneer today and I was mortified. It looked SO fake next to my other teeth. I know that others have told me that if you're doing one tooth in the front, you should do BOTH front teeth, but I didn't want to destroy a perfectly good tooth next to the dark one. However, I'm starting to think that I have to.
He's willing to work with me on this and he even brought the lab tech over to talk with me (on a moment's notice). And even if he does get this right, I can't imagine the nightmare I'll have to go through if or when I'll have to get it replaced.
What should I do?
The thinness of veneers is a good selling point, but if you're trying to cover up a discoloured tooth, it can be difficult to achieve a natural look. They tend to have a "flat" look to the colouration.
It's good that he's brought in the lab technician, and maybe they can colour it better when they see you first hand, but you should also consider a full crown on a zirconia base. This requires grinding away more of your tooth, but the extra thickness allows the lab technician a better chance of a good matching colour. Talk to your dentist.
You can also ask the technician for a reference copy of the colour buildup he used in case you need to make a new veneer or crown in the future. However, as we age, our natural teeth get darker, so it may not be exact match in years to come.
i would change dentists i am surprized he didn't warn you and talk to you abou tthis but let you do it and not talk? well get moving to another person.
try getting to another dentist for a second opinion.
Best of luck to you and don't let it ruin your smile. grin and bear it.
Did the lab tech talk about custom colouring? If not he should have suggested you accompany him back to his lab and colour matched the veneer to the surrounding teeth and adjusted the shading so that it was a perfect match. Did your dentist cement this permanently or did he only use a temporary cement?
Did anyone suggest tooth whitening prior to placing the veneer so that the surrounding teeth are as white as possible then match the new veneer to the new colour of the surrounding teeth?
Food for thought.
It is sometimes very, very difficult when a tooth has suffered trauma and discolored to match it with a veneer. Veneers are thin and there can be a lot of translucency that occurs making the color match difficult at best.
A suggestion would be to have the tooth prepped for a full porcelain (Procera) crown so that the entire tooth can be covered and a proper shade match can be obtained. You can get a much better shade and shape with a full crown and Procera crowns are very natural looking.
All of this, of course, depends upon the circumstances of your case but that would be a solution that I would look at in my practice.
Best of luck.