March 2017 - Arnold Dental

My dentist showed me a bunch of before and after pictures for porcelain veneers. They all looked gorgeous. In fact, the after smiles were stunning no matter how bad the before smile were. My makeover looked amateurish by comparison. The teeth look like boxy chicklets. When I told my dentist that he said my teeth were so bad that this is as good as it gets. I thought I could live with it, but I can’t. My new smile is obviously fake. That’s more embarrassing than my bad smile. Is there anything I can do to fix this?

Stina C. – California

Stina,

I’m just guessing here, but it sounds like you went to a family dentist who does some cosmetic dentistry, but hasn’t invested a lot of time and training to develop excellence. If he showed you stock before and after pictures, passing them off as his own, he’s also being unethical. He’s wrong, too. The whole point of getting a smile makeover is that you need one. Of course your before smile won’t be ideal. If it was, why spend the money?

Once it’s bonded on, the only thing you can do is remove it and have a new set of porcelain veneers done. There are two things I would suggest. First, Don’t have them re-done by this dentist. You need an expert cosmetic dentist. Look for someone in your area who is an AACD accredited dentist. Being accredited is different than being a member. An accredited dentist is among the top cosmetic dentists in the country. They can give you a gorgeous smile.

The second thing I’d do is see if the new cosmetic dentist can help you get a refund from the first dentist. It will be easy if he misrepresented himself. A little pressure from a peer does wonders.

This blog is brought to you by Dr. Fred Arnold.

I’m annoyed at my dentist. He had me get dental implants because I lost two teeth, but NOW he tells me we could have made it easier to save those teeth had I gotten orthodontics. That would have put those teeth in the correct position, making them easier to treat. Why didn’t he tell me that before, when there was actually a chance to save them? Isn’t that his job? I still have more back teeth scrunched up like the teeth I lost. I’d like to try to save them by getting ortho done, but don’t know if I need to have the implants removed to do that. Any advice?

Melanie B. – Kansas

Melanie,

I can understand your frustration. It sounds like your dentist left out some important communication to you. Yes, it’s his job if he sees a potential problem and solution to let you know. His job to give you options, pros, and cons, then let you decide. He didn’t seem to fulfill that. So, now you’re in a bit of a quandary.

Yes, you can remove your dental implants then get braces, but it’s not an easy procedure. For the implants to succeed, your jawbone had to integrate with the root form. Removing them will be difficult. Then, after your braces procedure is completed, you won’t be able to just put the implants back. You’ll need bone grafting and then have to start the implant procedure over again from the beginning.

I’d like to recommend you see a couple of different orthodontists in the area and get their recommendations, then weigh your options. Feel free to write back if their advice is confusing or contradictory. Even good dentists and orthodontists can disagree with each other occasionally.

This blog is brought to you by Dr. Fred Arnold.

My Porcelain Veneers Do Not Like the Before/After Pics Dentist Showed Me

Do I Need to Remove Dental Implants for Braces?

Archives for March 2017