I had a full smile makeover done with veneer crowns. I had twelve done on my top arch and ten done on my bottom arch. Then the problems started. At first, I had sharp pains on a couple of the teeth. He adjusted them a few times. Eventually, the pain went away but I am not convinced that was from the adjustments because a few weeks later they developed abscesses. After he did some x-rays, my dentist said the nerves had died and those teeth will need root canal treatments. I was shocked. He never mentioned nerve damage as a risk. When I asked about that he said it is incredibly rare and I am just unlucky. Since, then, three more of the teeth have needed root canal treatments. While my dentist has agreed to pay for half the cost of these additional treatments, I am more concerned that all the teeth are going to fail one by one. Have you heard of this happening?
Patty
Dear Patty,
I want to clarify some terms first, which I think will also explain the problem you have been having. There are porcelain veneers and there are porcelain crowns, but there is not something called veneer crowns. Based on what happened to you, I think your dentist actually gave you porcelain crowns and may have called them veneers. Some dentists do that to make it sound more like a true smile makeover.
There are a couple of ways you can know for certain. The first is the type of tooth preparation. The second is the shape of the restorations. These two things go hand in hand.
Porcelain veneer tooth preparation
Directly above you will see an image for what the tooth preparation for porcelain veneers will look like. This is minimal tooth prep because porcelain veneers are bonded to the front of your teeth only. Because of how little structure is removed from your teeth, there is practically zero chance of any nerve damage.
Tooth preparation for dental crowns
Dental crowns, on the other hand, are a completely different story. Because these have to go around your entire tooth, much more tooth preparation is necessary (as shown above). This has a much greater risk for damage, depending on how aggressive your dentist is in the tooth prep. Based on the number of root canal treatments you need, I would say he was extremely aggressive.
By the way, I don’t think paying for half of your root canal treatments is enough. He should pay the entire thing. This is especially true if he misled you as to what procedure you were getting.
This blog is brought to you by Lexington, KY Cosmetic Dentist Dr. Fred Arnold.