The teeth we were going to fix had many old fillings that were breaking down, had worn edges, an old crown that no longer matched, and were dark and discolored. They needed some help! We started by first whitening all her teeth. Again…..this is where we were starting:
A photo of the new veneers. Again, since these are brand new the tissue has not had time to completely mature around the veneers. In a few more weeks the tissue will look perfect, just like these new teeth!!
New veneers
So here’s the discussion: To move or not To move. These front teeth were in the wrong position, and the best way to treat this would have been to orthodontically correct the ‘end-to-end’ bite (or another way of putting it is ‘tip-to-tip’). The patient discussed this option with an orthodontist, but in the end decided she could not really afford the braces AND veneers. So our compromise was to re-contour the lower front teeth adequately so that the top teeth had room to function and operate efficiently. This was the PERFECT solution for our patient. She couldn’t wait to finally get her veneers!
Fractured bonding
Again, I have to put a ’shout out’ to the Synergy Dental Partners. I started purchasing my supplies here a few months ago and have saved significantly on the SAME items I was ordering elsewhere. I have no financial interest in the company, other than saving me (and hopefully you!) some money. Take a look here.
And here’s the final result:
The patient was thrilled to have this area filled in! We’ll get him back soon for a ‘final’ photo, after the tissue has healed completely and the teeth have re-hydrated (they get a bit dried out during the bonding process).
As you can tell, I obviously did not think these teeth were in need of veneers. A little bonding and a few minutes later they looked like new! I told the patient that she might EVENTUALLY need more definitive restorations (veneers) but for now the bonding was the easiest, least invasive, least expensive alternative. She was thrilled with the results!
The orthodontist moved the teeth and carefully created the ideal space for a lateral incisor:
Stone model during orthodontics
Ok. Just a little bit into the tooth and you can already tell there’s a more going on inside than you could originally see.
Hidden cavity
Although this had been fractured for many years, this nice lady agreed to have the tooth repaired after additional small pieces fractured off. And she was heading overseas for an extended trip, too. So we wanted to be sure she had no problems on her trip.
fractured tooth
This was a tough deal. This poor man was on a camping trip with his kids in the middle-of-nowhere when his porcelain crown broke. He managed to slip it back into place and showed up to see us with the piece in hand.
Broken porcelain
