I had dental bonding done in order to fix some gaps, chips, and uneven edges on my teeth. I was so excited about having this done. Unfortunately, it ended up extremely bulky and unattractive. I felt like it was worse than my original smile. I was told to give it some time and I might get used to it. The dentist felt it was much better than my original smile and that I just wasn’t used to seeing it without all the gaps and things. I didn’t. In fact, I was a bit offended that he pressured me to keep it. I asked them to remove the bonding and give me a refund. The office said they couldn’t give me a refund, but that they wouldn’t charge me for the removal. To make matters worse when they removed the bonding, I don’t feel like they did it right. The teeth are splotchy looking and uneven. Some of it looks shiny and some dull. I think they took off some of my natural tooth, but they’re insisting that’s what my teeth looked like before. Is there anything that can be done about this?
Avery
It sounds like you went to a basic family dentist who has not invested in much cosmetic dentistry training. At this point, there is not a recognized specialty in cosmetic dentistry. As a result, any general dentist can do cosmetic dentistry. The problem with that is it takes a significant amount of post-doctoral training in order to know how to do it well. Your dentist, quite apparently, does not have this training.
Above is an image of dental bonding done for a chipped tooth. There is no reason to add bulk in these situations. You should just replace the missing structure and nothing more. Then, it appears your dentist thought it would be simple to just remove it but obviously went past the bonding and removed some of your enamel. They should have taken a before picture when they did your case, which would have cleared up right away what your smile looked like before. It does not sound like they did that, which also hints to me that this office does not do a lot of cosmetic work. I’m sure you have an image you can show them from your own photos. However, I doubt it is going to make much difference to them.
What I recommend is that you see an expert cosmetic dentist and have them look at your case. They may be able to tell if some enamel was removed, which could help you get some money back.
The good news is that this can be fixed. AACD accredited dentists are the top cosmetic dentists in the country. Any one of them can repair the damage that your dentist did while placing and removing the dental bonding. You can get the stunning smile you were hoping for.
This blog is brought to you by Lexington, KY Cosmetic Dentist Dr. Fred Arnold.