Tetracycline Stain Makeover Botched

I have tetracycline stains and have almost my whole life. I saved up hoping to improve my smile. When I went to see my dentist, I mentioned I wanted porcelain veneers. He told me that because of how dark the stains were I would be better off getting porcelain crowns. I agreed trusting that he would know better. Things did not turn out the way I had hoped. They look chalky and, especially the front ones show a gray color underneath the crowns. Plus, he did six crowns and the teeth next to them are visible with their stains, which makes the other teeth look even more fake. This is not at all what I was hoping for and I don’t know what to do.

Maddie

Dear Maddie,

I am so sorry that this had happened to you. As you can see from the image above, tetracycline stains can be made to look beautiful and natural. My guess is this is a decent family dentist, but without the post-doctoral training needed to do extensive cosmetic work. This would not be the best dentist to do your smile makeover. Cosmetic dentistry is not a recognized specialty. Instead, it is up to the dentist how much cosmetic training they invest in. Dental school alone is not enough.

I can tell that your dentist does not have that training even by the fact that he steered you toward porcelain crowns instead of porcelain veneers. Dentists who don’t have training in cosmetic dentistry, tend to think that having a thicker surface to work with will make tetracycline stains easier to cover. That is not the case. These are very advanced cases where dentists have to know how to make the veneer (or crown if the tooth cannot have a veneer because it is already crowned) both opaque enough to cover the stains, while still looking natural and translucent.

If he is a reputable dentist with a code of ethics, he should recognize that his work did not produce a beautiful smile makeover and give you a refund. Then, you need someone who has invested in cosmetic dentistry training. A couple of great institutions are The Dawson Academy and The Las Vegas Institute of Advanced Dental Studies. There are others as well.

The key is making sure he or she has smile makeover training and consistently invests in post-graduate continuing education. Hopefully, that investment is not just their state’s minimum requirement. Also take a peek at their smile gallery to make sure they produce beautiful results.

This blog is brought to you by Nashville Cosmetic Dentist Dr. David Wickness.