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I Think My Implant Dentist Scammed Me

I went to a dentist because of some jaw pain and he said I needed a full-mouth reconstruction. So, I poured a ton of money into fixing my mouth. He extracted many of my teeth and give me implants with crowns and then just crowns on the others. After just a few weeks, the crowns started falling off and I have either stubs or nothing but screws to chew with. I’m in extraordinary pain. The office keeps taking a message and then I don’t hear from the dentist, so finally, in frustration, I just drive up there. They were closing shop. Apparently, he has skipped the country. His staff said that they think he is in Egypt, but aren’t positive. I don’t know what to do.

Avery


Dear Avery,

An image of both titanium and zirconia dental implants

I am so sorry that this happened to you. It sounds to me like you were dealing with a scammer. I wonder if he even had a dental license. There are horror stories about dentists who lose their license, yet still practice. Though, normally, they practice outside of the U.S.

Additionally, I’m afraid he took you for a ride twice. A full-mouth reconstruction is usually only done for the most severe TMJ Disorder, or for patients who grind their teeth down to nubs. There are several, less invasive procedures to try before doing something so drastic. Even when it is needed, your teeth aren’t extracted to do it. The dentist will just place a crown on every tooth.

If he did skip the country and is in Egypt, you may be out of luck. However, as his staff wasn’t sure, you could report him to the dental board and see if they have any idea where he is. This would certainly be something you could file a malpractice suit over if he is still in the country.

Other than that, all you can do is have this fixed. This is certainly going in the dental implant horror story file. When you do go to get this fixed. Make sure you check the dentist’s credentials, including their implant success rate which should be about 95%. Also check with review sites like Google and Yelp!, as well as the Better Business Bureau to make sure there aren’t any complaints against them.

Again, I am sorry this happened to you. Unlike the dentist who did your “treatment”, most dentists are in their chosen field because they want to help people.

This blog is brought to you by Moline Dentist Dr. Thomas Goebel.

Dental Bonding and Teeth Whitening

I have some dental bonding that has been on for a few years. They’re pretty stained at this point. My dentist did tell me they would have to be replaced every few years, but I’m hoping to put off replacing them right now. While I know that teeth whitening cannot whiten dental bonding, is it possible for it to whiten it just back to where it was originally? If so, could I use white strips like you get at the store?

Steven


Dear Steven,

Teeth Bleaching trays in their case

Unfortunately, teeth whitening will only whiten your natural tooth structure. Even if it could whiten them, I would not recommend Crest White strips to do it, if that was what you were referring to when you mentioned white strips. While they do work to whiten natural teeth, they have a much weaker gel than you would get with professional teeth whitening. You’d have to purchase a large number of boxes to get any significant results

While bleaching cannot get your dental bonding back to their original coloring. Sometimes, if the stains are just surface, then your dentist can polish them up to look better. However, dental bonding does not have the same type of protective glaze that porcelain veneers do. That makes it very possible the stains are more internal. If that is the case, then the only thing you can do is replace them.

I would expect replacing them periodically to be a regular part of having dental bonding. If you are looking for something more permanent, then porcelain veneers might be what you want. These can last for decades when well taken care of.

If you just have the bonding to replace a small chip or gap, then replacing the bonding may not cost you that much. If it is a larger surface, you may not want to replace them repeatedly. Another factor would be whether or not you were wanting to change anything else about your smile. If you’re happy with it, then there is probably no reason to upgrade. But, if you were looking to change the shape, size, or color of your teeth, then a smile makeover with porcelain veneers will take care of both your issues at once.

This blog is brought to you by Moline Dentist Dr. Thomas Goebel.