Archives for September 2023

My Dental Bonding Is Peeling

Posted on September 29, 2023 by AllSmiles.

My dentist whitened my teeth and later placed bonding on them last February to hide fluorosis stains. The color still wasn’t right after three tries, so I let it go. I figured I would keep the bonding because my dentist said it would last five years. After that, I planned to find another dentist to replace it. But within the past week, the bonding started peeling off like old paint. This is so embarrassing. I called my dentist, who said bonding on fluorosis sometimes doesn’t stick to your teeth. He never mentioned that the bonding might peel before he placed it. Now, I am concerned that I must live with these stains. If my dentist cannot get this right, what are my options? Thank you. Jay

Jay,

We are sorry to hear about your experience with dental bonding from your dentist. Fortunately, you have options for concealing fluorosis stains, but you cannot rely on your dentist for them.

Types of Fluorosis Stains

Fluorosis stains occur from consuming too much fluoride as a child while your teeth are still developing. Tooth stains are white in mild to moderate cases and brown in severe cases. The stains usually affect the tooth enamel only.

How Do You Conceal Fluorosis Stains?

Concealing fluorosis stains in teeth is one of the most challenging aspects of cosmetic dentistry. Depending on the stains and condition of your teeth, an advanced cosmetic dentist may recommend dental bonding or porcelain veneers.

Dental bonding

Applying dental bonding to tooth enamel securely requires these steps:
Etch the tooth enamel
Rinse and dry the enamel
Apply a liquid bonding agent to the tooth and use a curing light to cure it
Place the composite over the cured bonding

At least your dentist bleached your teeth before applying bonding, even though the color did not stay on. Bleaching teeth first is essential to matching bonding to your natural teeth. Whitening is an effective way to refresh your smile.

Porcelain veneers

Porcelain veneer

After removing a conservative amount of tooth enamel, a cosmetic dentist will complete these steps:

Take impressions of your teeth
Provide a wax-up of your veneers
Make temporary veneers for you to wear
After you approve the temporary veneers, send pictures and instructions to a dental ceramist to make the final product
Try the veneers on your teeth to ensure you are delighted with your smile makeover

How Can I Avoid Veneers Teeth Preparation?

Posted on September 21, 2023 by AllSmiles.

How can I avoid veneers teeth preparation? I don’t want my teeth shaved down. I’ve been checking out dentists’ patients along their veneers journey on IG, and their teeth look scary after prep. I’m so afraid of that experience. Are there other options for teeth covers? Thanks. Finn from Jersey City

Finn,

Consult an advanced cosmetic dentist to avoid aggressive teeth preparation for veneers.

Pictures on Instagram of aggressive teeth preparation for porcelain veneers can be alarming. A 2019 article in the International Journal of Esthetic Dentisty confirms that excessive teeth preparation for veneers exposes the dentin (the layer beneath the enamel), weakening the bond between the porcelain veneers and your teeth. Skilled cosmetic dentists only remove 0.3 mm to 0.5 mm of tooth enamel, leaving 85 to 95 percent of your enamel intact. Removing that small amount is not equivalent to shaving down your teeth.

Can You Avoid Veneers Teeth Preparation?

Not every porcelain veneers case requires teeth preparation, but a cosmetic dentist may recommend minimal preparation for natural-looking results and gum health. Even the thinnest veneers add a little thickness to your teeth, so a skilled cosmetic dentist will determine whether your teeth require preparation. Remember—skilled cosmetic dentists only remove. 0.3mm to 0.5mm of tooth enamel. Your teeth will not resemble the aggressively shaved teeth you may have seen online.

Several factors determine whether you are eligible for no-prep veneers or require minimal preparation.

Tooth position – If teeth are crooked, misaligned, or sticking out, a dentist must prepare them. Otherwise, placing veneers over your teeth without preparation can make your teeth look thick or bulky.
Improvements you want – Achieving your smile goals may affect multiple teeth. Your cosmetic dentist will ensure your teeth don’t overlap and that your teeth harmonize with your lips and bite. Achieving balance may require teeth preparation.

Are You Eligible for No-Prep Veneers?

Some porcelain veneers cases are suitable for no-prep veneers. If your teeth are even, properly aligned, and small, but you want to enlarge them, a skilled cosmetic dentist may include no-prep veneers as one of your treatment options. However, most porcelain veneers cases require tooth preparation because they are correcting imperfections in teeth.

Request a Porcelain Veneers Consultation

We recommend consulting with a dentist with post-graduate cosmetic dentistry training. Look for an advanced or accredited cosmetic dentist to discuss your treatment options for porcelain veneers, the most effective, healthy, and natural-looking teeth covers. Some patients prefer two consultations with different dentists to compare their options. A cosmetic dentist will determine whether your teeth need minimal preparation to achieve natural-looking results with porcelain veneers.

Baton Rouge dentist Dr. Steven Brooksher sponsors this post. Learn more about the porcelain veneers process.

His Dental Bonding Couldn’t Look Worse

Posted on September 15, 2023 by AllSmiles.

My 11-year-old son’s dental bonding couldn’t look worse. He fell two weeks ago and broke both front teeth. Fortunately, he was at school, and it was a weekday, so we could get to our general dentist within an hour. The dentist was helpful and took X-rays. He said he could fill in both teeth with dental bonding, which he did two days later. The bonding looks like lumpy instant oatmeal. The color and texture are wrong. My son cried and is so embarrassed that he wouldn’t smile. Fortunately, he has not been teased, but then he makes sure no one can see his teeth when talking. I need this corrected, but I won’t relieve my son’s anxiety about letting our dentist try again. On top of that, we were planning to start clear braces for my son in two years. I don’t want to waste money on bonding if it won’t work. Where do we start? – Thanks. Zach from IL

Zach,

We are sorry to hear about your son’s accident and embarrassing dental bonding.

Your dentist chose the right treatment option to fill in your son’s teeth. Unfortunately, the dentist is not skilled enough to produce aesthetic results with dental bonding. Especially when a large portion of a tooth is broken, a dentist must have an in-depth understanding of dental composite and artistic skills. So, although your dentist knew how to fix the problem, he couldn’t make it look natural.

We encourage you to get a second opinion from an advanced, preferably accredited, cosmetic dentist. Please don’t do otherwise because a dentist may recommend dental crowns for your son, which is a mistake for two reasons:

The pulp in a child’s tooth can be close to the surface, and grinding the tooth down for a dental crown can damage the pulp, requiring root canal treatment.

Your son is still growing, so the tooth will erupt further. The margin between the crown and tooth will show as the tooth erupts. It will be obvious that he has a dental crown.

We recommend searching online for a dentist with post-graduating cosmetic dentistry training who treats adults and children. Explain your concerns with dental bonding for your son’s teeth and your plans to start clear braces within two years. The dentist will explain your son’s options for dental bonding and how cosmetic dentistry can keep his teeth looking great as he grows.

Before and after dental bonding pictures from Baton Rouge cosmetic dentist Dr. Steven Brooksher

Before and after dental bonding photos of Dr. Brooksher’s work