My daughter had a complete smile makeover about two years ago. She ended up having a total of 14 veneers done. Early on, probably a couple months after the appointment, one of them chipped on the corner of one of them. The cosmetic dentist fixed it by shortening and sanding it down. The one next to it also had to be buffed down so it blended in and looked natural. Several months later, the second one that was buffed started looking a little darker than the ones around it. When I took her back into see him, the dentist denied it and said they all look fine. He had the attitude that he did a fabulous job with matching the color and that I was being extremely finicky. Now, all the sudden there is this blue hue of discoloration that is showing up. She is of course convinced her tooth is going to fall out. She goes to college out-of-state and I need to know whether this is some sort of emergency or if she can wait a few months until she’s home for the summer.

-Linda in Connecticut

Linda,

Sorry to inform you that it does sound like there may be a problem with the porcelain veneer. There is no way to give you a specific timeline and reassure you that it will stay in place for a few months. There is a possibility that it may fall off. That said, it may end up being better in the long run for it to fall off on its own versus having it removed, because it will likely break during the removal process.

Based on the details you have provided, it sounds like your daughter has a what is referred to as a leaky veneer. It can be fixed and she shouldn’t be concerned about losing the tooth. But it is an aesthetic problem. There may be an excellent cosmetic dentist in the area where she attends college. The veneer could be reapplied with dental bonding.

The bottom line is that she needs to be seen by an experienced cosmetic dentist to best determine the appropriate course of action. The dark spot may very well indicate that the bond between the tooth and the veneer itself is failing. The problem with discoloration she is experiencing is not likely a result of the buffing that was done to repair the chip. Hopefully that helps shed some light on what is happening with her discolored porcelain veneer.