I had chipped a tooth due to a foolish fall. No one my age should be skateboarding down a hill. (Side note there). My dentist wanted to put a crown on the tooth, but I could not see justifying that when the tooth itself was healthy and the chip was not that big. I told him I wanted dental bonding. He finally agreed. However, the color of the bonding does not match that of the rest of the tooth. Should I ask my dentist to re-do it or go somewhere else to have it done?
Laura
Dear Laura,
I would give your dentist another chance at getting this right. He was obviously out of his comfort zone with it to begin with. Suggesting a dental crown for a minor chipped tooth is a major overtreatment. That was his way of hiding the fact that he is not comfortable with dental bonding.
Though it is the right treatment for a chipped tooth, it is quite an advanced cosmetic procedure. It’s not adequately taught at dental school, so without post-doctoral training or lots of practice.
It may be that he is unable to get it done correctly the second time. In that case, I would say go to a different dentist after he has been given a second try at it.
Before you allow another dentist to do this, make sure you look at their smile gallery. This should be on their website and it will have before and after pictures of their cosmetic work on it. If they don’t have a smile gallery, they are not serious about cosmetic work. If they do, make sure you like the results and it would not hurt to take the extra precaution of calling and asking if it is the dentist’s own work.
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