I need some advice. It was time to replace porcelain veneers I had placed a little over 25 years ago. My dentist decided I needed to have my bite opened and went with dental crowns. When he did the temporaries, I kept telling him they didn’t feel right. Every. Single. Day. I kept asking him to re-do them. When the permanents came in, he just barreled through with everything. Now I can’t even keep my mouth closed. My mouth is so dry I have to have a drink constantly. I’m in pain all the time too. I asked my dentist and he said he met all the checkpoints and my case is perfect. He suggests I just give it time to heal. It has already been a few weeks. How long should this take?
Veronica
Dear Veronica,
It is not a matter of healing. This is serious and your dentist completely botched this case. It may be he is a decent man and good at your basic dental procedures, but he is in over his head on this one. I don’t think he understands the checkpoints he spewed at you. The fact that he barrelled forward even with you telling him the problems you were having with the temporaries makes me question his empathy and ethics at this point. Though, as I said, he may have been in over his head and not ready to admit that.
His incompetence is obvious. One of the first “checkpoints” is when your mouth is relaxed it closes naturally. Yours isn’t. This is called lip incompetence and is a huge issue. It leads to dry mouth, which you are already experiencing. Your saliva is key in fighting bacteria and preventing decay. Without that saliva, you are too susceptible to that bacteria growing.
I know you mentioned you are drinking a lot to keep the dry feeling out. It’s helpful in keeping your lip from sticking to your teeth. However, make sure you are only drinking water. That liquid will find its way underneath your dental crowns to your teeth. Without the requisite amount of saliva, your teeth will be eaten away by any sugar your liquids contain. Until this is fixed—water only.
What to Do From Here
Your case has to be re-done from the beginning. Unfortunately, now that your dentist did dental crowns instead of porcelain veneers you’ll need to have crowns from here on out. I’m going to highly suggest you use a different dentist. I wouldn’t let your dentist anywhere near your teeth. Ask for a full refund. If he gives you any problem tell him you’ll be talking to an attorney.
Once he hears the word lawyer, he’ll call his insurance. Given the facts of the case, they’ll tell him to settle and quickly. Your repairs should at a minimum be completely paid for. I’d like you to see an AACD accredited dentist who’s done work in full-mouth reconstructions, which is what you will need.
This blog is brought to you by Tulsa Cosmetic Dentist Dr. Jerome Cha.
