I chipped a tooth that I wanted to fix. My dentist suggested that I get a dental crown to fix it. The tooth was healthy and I did not really want to put a crown on a healthy tooth so I told him I’d think about it. A friend of mine suggested I have him do dental bonding. When I suggested it, he said that that is normally for dental fillings but we could do it. I liked that idea better than the crown. unfortunately, the bonding part does not match the color of the rest of the tooth. Is that typical? My friend implied that it would look natural. Would I be better off with the dental crown?
Joan
Dear Joan,
Dental bonding can match a tooth completely as you can see from the image above. However, it takes a skilled cosmetic dentist to do that. Because your dentist was suggesting a dental crown for a simple chipped tooth tells me that he is not a skilled cosmetic dentist. This is confirmed by the fact that when you brought up dental bonding he’d only thought of it in terms of dental fillings.
Do not let your dentist place an unnecessary dental crown on a healthy tooth. This is a massive overtreatment. You have a couple of options here. First, you can give him another opportunity to get the color matched properly. I’m not sure he’ll be able to but it is up to you if you want to try. Your second option is to ask for a refund and have it done by another dentist.
That doesn’t mean you have to completely switch dentists. Many patients go to one dentist for their general dental work and another for their cosmetic work. I would look for someone who has a smile gallery and check the type of results they provide. Look especially at any dental bonding they have done. This is a very advanced procedure because it has to be done freehand.
This blog is brought to you by Hoffman Estates Dentist Dr. William Becker.