I have a dental crown and a porcelain veneer. Both are showing their age, along with my natural teeth. I went to see my dentist and he suggested I crown all my teeth so that everything can look uniform and white. I do want a nice want smile, but I am having some doubts about crowning every tooth. Is there a better way to go about this?

Melissa

Dear Melissa,

 

I am very glad you wrote. You do not want to let your dentist do this. There are several ways you can go about getting this done without such a drastic overtreatment. Crowning every tooth is a procedure known as a full-mouth reconstruction. Very few dentists know how to do this well. When mistakes are made it can throw off your bite enough to cause TMJ Disorder and a lifetime of pain.

If You Want a Complete Smile Makeover

A complete smile makeover can change everything and anything about your smile. From the shape to the size and color of your teeth; everything is fair game. If that’s what you are going for, then I would suggest porcelain veneers, with the exception of that one tooth that already has a dental crown on it.

You’ll want to make certain you go to a dentist who has invested in post-doctoral training in cosmetic dentistry. Though it is not a recognized specialty, it is not something that should be endeavored by those who have not invested in the post-doctoral training necessary to do this well. There are countless cosmetic dentistry horror stories. You don’t want to end up as one of them.

Just Repairs

Let’s say instead of a complete smile makeover, you just want to repair the two teeth and whiten the rest. That’s simple too. First, you would simply whiten your teeth. This is much safer, less aggressive, and significantly less money than what your dentist suggested.

Once you are finished with the teeth whitening, then you simply replace the tooth with the dental crown with another dental crown and the tooth with the porcelain veneer with another veneer.

Again, as with the complete smile makeover, you will want an artistic cosmetic dentist.

This blog is brought to you by Sugar Land Dentist Dr. Siny Thomas.