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.
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Two Concerns with My Porcelain Veneers
I had porcelain veneers placed about five days ago and love them. That being said, I have two concerns. First, I did not realize I should not be using whitening toothpaste on them. I did that because I wanted to keep them bright, but a friend told me that they can damage porcelain veneers. Did I ruin my new smile makeover? Second, I was only able to get six veneers. I wanted a white smile, which my dentist gave me. But, the teeth next to the porcelain veneers are not white and it is detracting from my beautiful new teeth. If I get my teeth whitened, will it damage the veneers?
Zack
Dear Zack,
I’m glad you wrote. Let’s start with the toothpaste because that has you really worried. While it is true that most-over-the-counter toothpastes will damage both cosmetic dental work, as well as your normal teeth, that damage would happen after some prolonged use. It sounds like you’d just stared using it, so I would not be too worried. So you know, there is one whitening toothpaste that I would recommend which is safe for both your teeth as well as your porcelain veneers–Supersmile Toothpaste. If you want to keep stains off of your teeth, this is the only toothpaste I would recommend.
As for the natural teeth being a different color, there is a fix for that. Technically, your dentist should have addressed this before you had your porcelain veneers were placed. Most smiles are eight to ten teeth wide. Knowing that you were only getting six porcelain veneers, your dentist should have anticipated the color difference. Standard procedure in those cases is to have the patient do teeth whitening before they get their veneers, that way the natural teeth will blend in with the veneers.
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Dentist Lied to Me About Porcelain Veneers
I went to a dentist to get porcelain veneers. It’s not my normal dentist who said he doesn’t do a lot of cosmetic dentistry and I’d be better off with someone else for this procedure. I appreciated his honesty. If only all dentists were as honest. The dentist I went to told me he was giving me porcelain veneers. I have texts and emails to that effect. I should have been suspicious when he ground down my teeth and gave me temporary “veneers.” Unfortunately, I continued to trust him. I had two teeth that had already had root canals. One of them ended up getting infected after my procedure. It started bothering me a few days after it was placed, which the dentist assured me was normal and would rectify itself. The pain became so intense that I ended up in the hospital and they had to extract the tooth in order to save my life. The infection had spread and was close to my brain. The hospital also told me that I did not have veneers but crowns. I looked at my texts again. They definitely said veneers. I also looked at their website, which does explain the difference between crowns and veneers. I went to see another dentist after this and he said they are definitely crowns and that the dentist over prepared my teeth, which is why I’m having problems. I feel so angry. Is there any way to get my money back on this so I can get veneers?
Catherine
Dear Catherine,
I am sorry this happened to you. Unfortunately, now that you have had crowns placed on your teeth, there is no way to unring that bell and get veneers. The tooth structure cannot be regrown. As you can see from the difference in tooth preparation, porcelain crowns require much more tooth preparation. Based on your description, it sounds like the dentist you went to was even more aggressive.
While you cannot get porcelain veneers, you can get your money back. In fact, I think you have a decent case for a lawsuit, but that is a lot of time and trouble. A basic tenant of dentistry is informed consent. You gave consent for porcelain veneers. He gave you a completely different procedure altogether. I would start by just asking the dentist for a refund. Let him know that you understand the strength of your position and are willing to go to court, but wanted to give him the chance to do the right thing.
The fact that his website shows that he knows the difference between the two procedures works in your favor.
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MAC Veneers or Lumineers?
I had an accident which damaged the appearance of some of my teeth. In preparation for fixing this, I’ve whitened them. Now I want to get porcelain veneers. My dentist said that MAC veneers are the strongest but Lumineers means no grinding of my teeth. I’m having a hard time deciding. Are there pros and cons to each of these?
Margaret
Dear Margaret,
I am glad that you wrote. I can tell you are trying very hard to do some research and make a wise decision. It was wise of you to get your teeth whitening done first. As for the veneers, I would like to gently suggest you shift the way you look at this. Cosmetic dentistry is not just a procedure, it is also an art form. As an analogy, let’s compare this to a painting. If you were trying to commission a beautiful work of art, would you focus on the brand of paint or on getting the right artist? Well, the artist, of course!
What you want to focus on for your smile makeover is the artistic skill and training of the dentist. While in the hands of a skilled cosmetic dentist, MAC Veneers can look stunning, but if the dentist isn’t skilled, they could end up looking awful. I am a bit concerned about your dentist’s second recommendation.
Lumineers are a brand of porcelain veneers which are highly marketed to in experienced cosmetic dentists as being easy to place. Unfortunately, unless the dentist is highly skilled they end up looking quite bulky. Some disappointed patients have even gone so far as to call them horse teeth. Most skilled cosmetic dentists don’t like this brand because the lab that they require dentists to use is not known for producing beautiful results.
What you want to do is make sure you use a skilled, artistic dentist to do your smile makeover and let them pick the brand. If they’ve done adequate post-doctoral training, then they will know the pros and cons of each brand. Then, depending on what type of smile you were looking toward, they would know which brand can best get those results.
I would start by asking the dentist what type of post-doctoral training they have in creating beautiful smile makeovers. This is not adequately taught in dental school. Then, take the additional precaution of checking out their smile gallery. If they do not have a smile gallery, then I would not consider them a serious cosmetic dentist. If they do, make sure you love the results they get before you move forward with anything.
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Will Crest Whitestrips Damage My Porcelain Veneers?
I had four porcelain veneers placed. I like them a lot but my other teeth look so dark next to them. If I got something like Crest Whitestrips to try to whiten my natural teeth, would they damage my porcelain veneers?
Camilla
Dear Camilla,
I am glad you like your porcelain veneers. It is a shame that your dentist did not plan your case better. In fact, I am a bit frustrated on your behalf. He could have avoided you having any color differences.
Most people have smiles that are eight to ten teeth wide, so he should have known that four veneers would have a color discrepancy. The solution to that, when you can’t get ten teeth veneered, is to have professional teeth whitening done ahead of time. This ensures that your smile blends together naturally.
While Crest Whitestrips will not damage your porcelain veneers, I do not think that you will get the results you are hoping for out of them. First, the whitening gel that they use is very weak. It would take a large number of boxes to see any real results. Second, they are only designed to cover the front six teeth. As four of those are veneered, you’ll only be getting two teeth with any gel on them. You could wear two sets or cut them in half, but that will not help with the strength.
In your place, I would ask your dentist to make custom teeth whitening trays for you. They could even be designed to go around your porcelain veneers. The gel your dentist can provide you is significantly stronger than anything you would get over the counter, which means your teeth will whiten much sooner.
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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,
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.