Porcelain Veneer Changing Color
Posted by writeradmin
My daughter had six porcelain veneers placed. Over the summer, she fell and had a minor chip to one of her front teeth. Her dentist sanded it down a bit to even out the tooth, but then the adjacent tooth had to be sanded as well. A week later we noticed a slight color difference in one of her front teeth. The dentist said he couldn’t see it and that I was paranoid. Now, it has turned an obvious bluish color and he still isn’t taking us seriously. My daughter left for college a few days ago and called me today saying that it is getting worse. She’s panicked that this veneer is going to fall off. What do we do?
Louise
Dear Louise,
It does sound like there is something wrong with your daughter’s porcelain veneer. I don’t think the sanding did it. When there is a good bonding of the veneer to a tooth, something like sanding or vibrations will not damage it. That being said, it does sound like there is something wrong with your daughter’s porcelain veneer. It sounds like it could be a leaky veneer, but bear in mind that I have not actually examined her or seen an image of what is going on.
A leaky veneer is when there is not a complete bond between the porcelain veneer and the tooth. The bluish color may be coming from things getting between the tooth and veneer. This will need to be fixed.
The porcelain veneer will fall off at some point. The ideal situation would be to wait until it does fall off. Tell your daughter not to panic if that happens, and definitely not to try and reattach it herself with something like superglue. A cosmetic dentist can re-bond it for her.
While most general dentists would not consider it a dental emergency, a cosmetic dentist does understand an aesthetic emergency, and would be willing to fit her in.
If the staining becomes unsightly but the veneer does not fall off, she will be better off having it physically removed and replaced.
This blog is brought to you by Mt. Dora Dentist Dr. Michelle Stillman.