Son’s Dental Bonding Looks Horrible
Posted by Annmarie SanSevero
My son had an accident on his bike that caused him to break pretty good sized chips to his front teeth. His pediatric dentist suggested dental bonding. We went ahead with it. The results were a disaster. The bonding is whiter than the rest of his teeth, plus the teeth are a bit bumpy and uneven. He (the dentist) thinks it looks fine. My son and I are mortified. I don’t understand how he could not see that one tooth is longer than the other, the surface is bumpy, and the color is completely different. I want to fix before my son’s school starts back, so what do I do?
Andrea
Dear Andrea,
I am so sorry this happened to your son, both the accident as well as the disastrous repair. While this can be repaired, I don’t think your son’s pediatric dentist will be the one to do it. Maybe you can talk him into giving you a refund so that you can get it properly fixed.
The good news is that the dentist had the right treatment plan for your son. The problems came because of two issues. First, dental bonding is an advanced cosmetic procedure that really requires significant post-doctoral training. This is especially true with bonding because it has to be done freehand. It’s very likely he does not have this training. Very few pediatric dentists do. I feel fairly confident that he does not have this training based on the way he responded to your dismay over the results. A true cosmetic dentist would not be satisfied if the patient wasn’t. They certainly wouldn’t be okay with the poor color match or uneven teeth. Cosmetic dentists KNOW that it is how the patient feels about the smile that matters.
Second, while he obviously had some basic composite materials on hand because he does composite fillings and such, he probably does not have the high variety of materials needed to do this well. This is likely why the color doesn’t match. He would need not only a variety of composite microfills, but also a larger array of stains and colors available to make a good match.
What you need, in order to get this repaired correctly, is to see an expert cosmetic dentist. The best cosmetic dentists are accredited by the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry (AACD). That’s different from membership. You didn’t say how old your son was, but because he is going to a pediatric dentist, I assume he’s young. Here is my recommendation. First, look for a list of AACD accredited dentists within a 100 mile radius of you. If you have to go further it will be worth it. Then, check to see if those dentists are also comfortable working with children. Here’s how to know. If they recommend seeing children about three years old or younger, you can know they’re comfortable with them. If they wait until the child is around eight years old, skip them.
This blog is brought to you by Franklin, TN Cosmetic Dentist Dr. Christopher Weber.
