I need some advice. I’ve been a tooth grinder and my dentist said the only way to fix it was porcelain veneers. That was so expensive! To protect them, I also now wear a nightguard. The problem I am having is they keep popping off. I don’t know what to do. My dentist is good enough to glue them back in every time, but that is more time off work. Plus, I’m constantly terrified of them coming off because the tooth underneath the veneers is a tiny little nub. The last time, they came off at career day at my son’s school. It was humiliating both for me and my son. My dentist now says he wants to try something else, but what worries me about this is for every appointment thus far they have said sedation is necessary. I don’t remember anything from my appointments and I am out for a complete day. What do you recommend I do?
Carolyn
Dear Carolyn,
What a disaster! I am sorry this happened to you. It appears that not only do you have an incompetent dentist, but an unethical one as well. You keep saying porcelain veneers, but what your dentist gave you were porcelain crowns. Here is how I know this.
If you were getting porcelain veneers, the tooth prep would be more like what you see on the right. What you described is more like the photo on the left, with the little nubs. Some dentists who cannot do porcelain veneers will suggest porcelain crowns as an alternative. It appears that yours just straight out lies and says he’s giving you veneers when he is not.
Worse than that, your dentist does not even seem to be able to do your porcelain crowns correctly. This is mystifying to me because dental crowns are one of the first things we are taught in dental school. Most dentists go their entire careers without one crown falling out, let alone the number you are dealing with. Quite frankly, I am not sure how he even graduated.
Another thing that bothers me is the dental sedation. If you were getting porcelain veneers, all you would need is a local. However, you received porcelain crowns. Now, some people with severe dental anxiety might benefit from sedation in these types of cases, but you never even mentioned dental anxiety. It was your dentist who said this was necessary.
I think your dentist should pay to have this fixed by another dentist. Unfortunately, because you were given dental crowns, you are now stuck with dental crowns. That tooth structure he ground down will not come back. But, you can get a beautiful, functional smile that will stay put. In your place, I would go to a dentist that is AACD accredited. These are the best cosmetic dentists in the country. Again, your dentist should cover this expense. If not, you can go to the dental board and even file a lawsuit. That should sober your dentist up.
This blog is brought to you by Hilton Head Cosmetic Dentist Dr. Bonnie Rothwell.
No, you are not being unreasonable. In addition, your dentist has been less than honest. Are you sure he said 
I appreciate you are in a hurry with this and while it isn’t out of order to ask a referral when your dentist doesn’t do the procedure, there are some important distinctions in these different methods you need to understand. Before deciding, I want to make sure you know what you are getting into first. I appreciate you are in a hurry for this. Look at the image of the tooth on the left. You will notice that the tooth is not uniform in color and translucency. When a dentist traditionally designs a dental crown, they take this into consideration when he or she draws up the instructions for the ceramist. They will have to use various shades of porcelain to make this look natural. 
