My Dentist Intentionally Stained my Lumineers

Question submitted by Caroline:

I had eight Lumineers placed. Before the procedure I was very clear about what type of smile I wanted, including how white I wanted the Lumineers. I even picked out the color on a chart. I felt like when he put them on that they weren’t white enough. He told me that it was just the lighting of the office that made them look that way. Looking back, I realize that was a stupid thing my dentist said because the dentist’s office would be much brighter and therefore I’d have the best look at them there. When I got home and looked at them in my bathroom, I also realized they were not the color I picked out. I called him back and he said that the color I picked out was “unnaturally” white so he put a stain on them in order to make sure they looked natural. I was very unhappy about that. He should have asked me. I expressed my displease a bit passionately and said some things that I’m embarrassed about now. He told me to come in the next day and he’d fix it. When I went in, he drilled the top layer off to take off the stain. Now I have misshapen, dull looking teeth. What do I do?

Caroline

Dear Caroline,

What a cosmetic dentistry horror story. I am sorry this happened to you. I can guess what happened here. General dentists are taught that they know better than the patient. Cosmetic dentistry is different. The dentist is supposed to be creating the smile the patient wants. You wanted a white smile. He thought that wouldn’t look natural so he did the smile he wanted.

When you expressed your displeasure, he decided he’d have to appease you somehow. The thing for him to do then, should have been to replace the Lumineers for the white color you wanted. Instead, to save himself the loss of income, he chose instead to do something that actually ruined the Lumineers.

This is actually going to end up a positive for you. Generally, when it comes to getting a refund, the standard of care is functional, not whether you think the work is beautiful or not. This stinks for patients who get a badly done smile makeover. In your case, by drilling off the top layer, he damaged them and they are not only uneven, but will quickly begin picking up stains. You also benefit because he put the stain on there without your permission, which was totally different from what you discussed.

What I don’t want you to do is ask him to redo them. Instead, I want you to simply get a refund. You are going to want someone with more expertise to fix this. Then, go to someone else and have this done properly.

Don’t be surprised if they recommend something other than Lumineers. They are simply just one brand of porcelain veneers. You will find that many cosmetic dentists who are actually skilled at cosmetic dentistry prefer a different brand. This is mainly because the company that owns that brand insists dentists use their lab, which is not known for producing beautiful results.

This blog is brought to you by Tucson Prosthodontist Dr. Howard Steinberg.