I had porcelain veneers placed on my top two teeth a little over a month ago. It looked good at first, but when I got home, I noticed one looked like it had a small scratch across the front and it felt a little rough. I went back in and the dentist said it was an easy fix—that he could just smooth it out. He did that right there in the chair, with the porcelain veneer still attached. Again, I thought it looked ok when I was there and I couldn’t feel the ridge with my tongue anymore, so I thought all was well. But, then I got home and looked at it and realized the spot he worked on is dull. It doesn’t have the same shine the rest of the porcelain veneer has and it doesn’t match the one next to it. It seems like it’s such a minor thing that I should just let it go, but at the same time, I’m disappointed because I paid good money for this. Is there any chance the shine will come back over time? If not, is this worth mentioning to him and asking him to replace or repair it again?
Best,
Alexis in Florida
Dear Alexis,
What causes the shine is a glaze coat which goes over the top and is baked on as part of the process of building the restoration at a lab. You might not have noticed it was absent depending on the lighting or the amount of saliva in your mouth at the time, but once it’s gone, it’s gone.
Purely from an initial cosmetic standpoint, you do have grounds to request that he redo or repair it, and the sooner you make the request, the better. Without the glaze, that spot will be more susceptible to staining, and so it will become more noticeable over time. Moreover, if you ask for the repair or replacement now while it’s fresh in his mind, he can’t argue that you caused it somehow.
You have a couple of options. It is possible to get a similar shine through polishing, but this requires the use of diamond polishing instruments and diamond polishing paste. Someone who does a lot of cosmetic work will have these on hand anyway, so it’s a bit concerning he didn’t use them the first time around. That suggests he’s not an experienced cosmetic dentist, in which case, you may do better asking him to replace it or finding someone who specializes in cosmetic work to redo it.
Best of luck!
This blog is sponsored by Barrington cosmetic dentist James T. Gavrilos, DDS