My teeth are the wrong shape after porcelain veneers.

I am not wild about my new porcelain veneers. I had my front teeth done and I had high hopes for what they would end up looking like. Maybe I didn’t effectively communicate what I had in mind because they ended up looking kind of stumpy to me. The best way I can explain it is my gums look a lot bigger. They also appear uneven on the teeth that got veneers. I admit that I’m a perfectionist, but I didn’t anticipate feeling disappointed. The thing is, my dentist is convinced my smile looks so much better. He basically said that this is the best that can be done and the shape will need to stay. I’m wondering if I should have considered a different procedure to get the look I was trying to achieve? Is it possible I was pressuring him into veneers when I really shouldn’t have gotten them?

-Annabelle in Texas

Annabelle,

Well, from what you have described of your porcelain veneers experience, your dentist may not be extremely experienced in cosmetic dentistry. Typically, porcelain veneers do a phenomenal job and deliver stunning results when they are done by an excellent cosmetic dentist. It may not have been that you were pushing your dentist at all. Even so, if he or she was an experienced cosmetic dentist, then another treatment option should have been recommended. The issue about your uneven gums could have been solved with gum re-contouring. It almost sounds as if the porcelain veneers made your smile look worse and the gums stand out more. Having the gum re-contouring done along with the porcelain veneers would have likely given you the look you were after.

Different practices call the procedure different things. For example, some offices refer to it as laser re-contouring, a gigivectomy, or gum reshaping. It simply involves removing a very tiny portion of the gum tissue to improve the look of your smile. This will enable more of the teeth to show. A beautiful smile is all about symmetry and an expert cosmetic dentist would have absolutely incorporated this treatment.

The bad news is that the gum recontouring should have been done prior to the porcelain veneers being placed. So, you will need to have it all redone in order to achieve the balanced, beautiful look you’re after. To be frank, your current dentist probably isn’t the best dentist to move forward with. It may be time to seek out a new cosmetic dentist, one that has extensive training and credentials in cosmetic dentistry. It is however, worth your while to see if your dentist would be willing to correct the work. If not, or if he tries to convince you that your smile is great as-is, it’s time to move on.

This post is sponsored by Lexington cosmetic dentist Hamburg Expressions.