I don’t know what to do. I had to get a dental crown on front tooth. My dentist can’t seem to get them to match. The first one was way too dark. The next one was way too white. The third one is close. I thought I could live with it and he bonded it one but now every time I look in the mirror I feel like my smile looks fake. Am I being too picky? My dentist said if I really want to do it again he will.
Candace
Dear Candace,
The tendency for most patients in your situation is to finally just settle for a crown that doesn’t look quite right. If this is a front tooth, however, even a slight variation in the color between the crown and adjacent teeth will be noticeable to others and will make the crown look fake.
Your dentist seems to be very ethical and is doing everything he can to make this right. I just think he is in over his head. Matching a single dental crown to a front tooth is a highly developed skill. Additionally, the dentist has to have a great working relationship with artistic skill. Their relationship needs to be very communicative where they understand one another the way best friends would.
An expert cosmetic dentist will do try-ins to make sure it matches perfectly. I don’t think your dentist has the expertise necessary and didn’t even know about temporary try-in pastes.
Another method being used very effectively to match crowns on front teeth is photography. Using sophisticated camera equipment designed for taking dental photographs, the dentist will start by taking a photograph of a standard shade tab of a shade that is close to the shade of your natural teeth. The shade tab will be put up against your natural teeth and photographed, and this photograph will be sent to the ceramist as a guide in re-creating the natural color of the tooth. Then, if the crown provided by the ceramist doesn’t match perfectly, that crown is tried in on the tooth and a new photograph is taken. The ceramist then will be able to see, in the lab, exactly what color modifications need to be made to get it to match perfectly. Your typical family dentist won’t have this type of photographic equipment.
So what do you do if your dentist doesn’t have the skills necessary? Your dentist is willing to keep trying. If you are willing to let him, you can. However, it’s likely he’ll never get it quite right. You could have a conversation with him and tell him you think it would be better if he transferred your information to a dentist with more expertise and the tools necessary to do it properly.
This blog is brought to you by East Cobb Dentist Dr. Cristi Cheek.