Porcelain Veneers Led to Root Canal Treatments
I had a smile makeover done with veneer crowns. Ten teeth on top and ten on the bottom. After the permanent veneer crowns were put on, I started having some problems. In the first four weeks, I’ve had three teeth have sharp pains. He tried adjusting them, but that didn’t help. He did some x-rays and told me that I have nerve damage and will need root canals. First, he never told me that nerve damage was a possibility. I asked him about that and he said that it is rare and I’m just one of the “unlucky” ones. Now, I’ve had two more teeth start to bother me. I’ve already paid for all of this and now I’m having to pay for root canals too. Should he offer to pay for some of this?
Angie
Dear Angie,
I am sorry that you’ve had this experience. I want to start by clearing up some terms to make sure we are talking about the same thing. You keep saying veneer crowns. There are porcelain veneers and there are porcelain crowns, but there are not veneer crowns. The big difference between the two is the amount of tooth preparation that has to be done.
With porcelain veneers, hardly any tooth structure needs to be removed. In part, that is why nerve damage would be extremely rare. I’m thinking with the amount of damage and root canals you ended up needing, I suspect you were given dental crowns. With dental crowns, much more of your tooth structure is removed as you can see in the image above. This would have a greater risk for nerve damage. However, even then it would take some aggressive shaving of the tooth to do the kind of damage you are talking about.
The fact that he gave you crowns also concerns me. The standard procedure for a smile makeover is porcelain veneers. Do you know why your dentist gave you crowns? Did your teeth already have crowns? Unless you needed crowns, doing them for a smile makeover is an overtreatment. Though, sometimes, dentists who don’t really do a lot of cosmetic work, will suggest them simply because they don’t know how to do veneers.
I would ask him to pay for the root canal treatments. You wouldn’t have nerve damage without his procedure unless there is something else you didn’t mention that would reflect on this situation.
This blog is brought to you by Moline Dentist Dr. Thomas Goebel.
Is a Porcelain Veneer Turning Dark a Dental Emergency?
My daughter had eight porcelain veneers placed after she graduated college. She’s now in a low residency grad program and is having trouble with one of her porcelain veneers. It started when she was out on a bike ride and fell. She chipped one of her front teeth. We went back to the dentist who “fixed” it by sanding down the chipped tooth. That also meant that she had to file down the next tooth too. Fast forward just a few months and my daughter and I both noticed that one of the teeth that he shaved was getting darker. We went back to see him and he said that he is an expert in color and it looks fine to him. Then he proceeded to tell me that I was imagining a change in the color. Fast forward again and now that veneer is turning bluish. We’re both worried that this veneer is going to fall off. She still has two weeks of residency left. Should she go to an emergency dentist or wait until she gets home?
Evelyn
Dear Evelyn,
While something has gone wrong with this porcelain veneer, I don’t think it is a dental emergency yet. It would be best if she waited for the veneer to fall off naturally, even if she is done with residency and back home. Then, once it has fallen off an expert cosmetic dentist can help her to get it bonded back on.
If it gets too unsightly for her and she is embarrassed, the best thing you could do in that case is to have it ground off and then replaced. While it sounds like your dentist did an okay job with the porcelain veneers if she was happy with their appearance before, I’m not sure he’s the best dentist to handle this from here. His attitude toward you bothered me.
If she needs to get it ground off and replaced, just get all his notes on her treatment — he is ethically required to provide those — then get it replaced with another dentist. Preferably one with significant post-doctoral training in cosmetic dental work.
This blog is brought to you by Moline Dentist Dr. Thomas Goebel.