Archive for August, 2011

What to do about a dark porcelain veneer?

Tuesday, August 30th, 2011

I have had one veneer done on my front tooth about 7 years ago, My dentist did such a fabulous job, you cant even tell one of my front teeth was fake. This past year however, there is darkening up at the gumline. When a picture is taken of me the one front tooth looks smaller than the other. What can i do rewhitten the top of the venner by my gum line in the front? is there an alternative without getting the veneer redone? i have read you can lighten your orginal tooth from the back which I am currently doing. Do you know by chance how long it takes to see results and will this lighten the fron by my gum line. Thanks in advance for your help.
- Donna from Boca Raton

Donna,
Yes, you can whiten the tooth behind a porcelain veneer a little bit, but I don’t think that will help your situation. First of all, what you’re telling me is that this veneered tooth is now uneven in color, because it is not darkening uniformly but is getting darker at the gumline. Teeth bleaching whitens a tooth uniformly, so it won’t correct a color discrepancy like this.

But more importantly, the reason a porcelain veneer will start to darken at the gumline is usually because it is leaking. The bond has maybe washed out there because it wasn’t very strong to begin with, and stain and possibly decay is getting up under the veneer. You need to have this checked by an expert cosmetic dentist, and then be prepared for possibly replacing this veneer. Ordinarily we would expect a porcelain veneer to last much longer than this, so maybe the dentist had some problem with the bonding procedure in this difficult area under the gumline.

But be careful. You don’t know how lucky you are that this looked so nice when you had this done 7 years ago. 95-98% of dentists could not do this that well. So if you aren’t going back to the dentist who first did it, don’t rely on the dentist’s self-proclaimed expertise in cosmetic dentistry. There’s a good way to find an excellent cosmetic dentist, and that is with the website mynewsmile.com. They examine the credentials of dentists who claim to be cosmetic dentists, plus they examine photographs of their work and recommend based on that information. Dr. Rota is their recommended cosmetic dentist in Colorado Springs, and they have several cosmetic dentists they recommend in the Miami area.

This blog sponsored by Colorado cosmetic dentist Dr. Joseph Rota.

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Dental bonding to fix white spot lesions after braces

Saturday, August 13th, 2011

I was at the orthodontics a while back and we were talking about white spot lesions. I never brushed well but I started because I heard of the lesions and got really scared. After noticing my hygiene I asked if I had stains and she told me she couldn’t tell because they form around the brackets. Also if I do have stains and I decide to undergo a cosmetic bonding process after my braces to get rid of the white spot lesions will I be covered by my dental insurance.
- Anthony from New York

Anthony,
Yes, I wish orthodontists would put up pictures of the smiles of people who didn’t brush conscientiously when they had braces on, so that there would be no chance that their patients would misunderstand how easy it is to get these lesions on your teeth. You cannot let food sit on those brackets or they will make ugly white or brown spot lesions on your teeth that you’ll see when the braces come off. Brush after any time you eat anything.

And yes, the way to fix those lesions is usually with dental bonding after the braces come off. Unless they are extensive, and in that case you would want porcelain veneers.

Some dentists may think that bleaching will take care of these spots, especially if they are brown. Stay away from any dentist who suggests that – they don’t know what they’re doing.

And yes, dental insurance should help pay for those. The dental bonding or porcelain veneers is done to repair damage to your teeth, so that would be within the scope of most dental insurance contracts. But understand that the dental insurance may well have a minimum amount they will cover. They may only cover the minimum treatment required to repair the damage to your teeth, which will be less than what would be required to get the teeth to look beautiful. And my recommendation would be to go to an expert cosmetic dentist for this work and not to a regular family dentist. A family dentist will not likely stock the necessary materials to make this repair look beautiful.

This blog is sponsored by Colorado Springs cosmetic dentist Dr. Joseph Rota

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