Crowns unaligned, painful, crooked & desperate for advise

[GlassPearl]

If someone (professional preferred) would please take the time to read and answer, I would greatly appreciate it.
I had 4 top, front crowns done a few weeks ago since mine were very crooked (right central incisor overlapped left one & the lateral incisors were partially overlapping as well). I am very unhappy with the outcome. My crowns midline is way off to the left (my left), they are yellow (I asked for lighter because I was going to get my natural teeth lightened, but they wouldn't go lighter), my gums have not grown over the top of the crowns as I was told they would (like it is on natural teeth), there is black at the top of a of them (it looks rotten but I know it's not), they are large, slant down and stick out to the left, there is dark gray/black between the right 2 teeth (which he said came from his explorer & should wear off by a weeks time), and my left lateral incisor has been extremely sensitive since drilled (hot/cold/air sensitivity & I can't bite down on ANYTHING on the left front). I look 20 years older.
I have been back to the same dentist  with these complaints (with support of my husband) and was told my bite is off so the midline would have to be fixed with braces (which is weird because the midline of my original teeth was in the middle). I'm not sure if there was supposed to be an impression made before drilling my teeth down, but there wasn't. He did the impression after drilling & then continued to drill to fit temoraries AFTER the impression was made (which he told the assistant to 'note' on the lab paperwork). As far as the slanting/bucking down to the left, he filed a bit to somewhat even that out & drilled or filed the left lateral incisor so it wouldn't stick out as bad (which then caused it to be unsmooth). As for my gums, they told me to give it a couple weeks and to 'tease' the gum down, which I'm still doing with no results after 3 weeks & floss goes under the tops of the crowns and shreds. Moreover, I assume my gums should be covering the blackish look at the top of the crowns? I have also been telling them since the drilling that I'm worried about my left lateral incisor as it is sensitive... etc. They've told me 'well, it's normal to have pain after this procedure' and made me an appt (for 2 weeks later). Now, when I was at the 2nd appt, to prepare my teeth for temps, I felt awful sharp nerve-like pains and shocking when he was drilling that tooth. I did let him know this, but he kept drilling. When he asked advice of a lady whom 'worked in that field for several years' who had coincidentally been working in there office for that day, she told him to drill it more, and he stated 'I'm worried above hitting the nerve', but he went ahead and drilled more. I am just so worried because I have no way to pay to have this done over again, as we are on a fixed income. I just feel so stuck and don't know how to go about this. I think my biggest problem is the people at the dentist office seemed so nice and I seem to be the type to be easy to get over on. But, during the consultation I specifically asked if he could make my teeth straight with crowns and he said he could.
I guess I should get to my questions so you can help someone else too...

- My main concern is exactly what should I say or ask for from the dentist when I go to my next appt? Should I ask for my payment of $2500 back to go somewhere else? Should I give him another chance to correct the mistakes or start over?
- About the blackish line in between the 2 right teeth (but shows), could it have been where he drilled too far into the crown before he cemented it on my tooth?
- Is it normal to take this long for the gums to come down over the teeth or will they ever?
- I failed to mention that the crowns are over my gums on the backs. Is this normal?

Thanks so much for having this website for people to come to and get help or advice on such critical matters. Critical in my case (and many others I'm sure) since I had crooked front teeth all of my life and finally got the chance to get them fixed. I was so excited, then ...

[skaral]

I am desperate for help regarding my dentistry nightmare.  What is the name of the dentist who finally helped you?  Thanks for your help

[GlassPearl]

Hi there. I know it's been a long time since my last post, but in all fairness for your help, I'd like to share the results...

Long story short, I had a local cosmetic dentist take a look at my crowns and give his opinion. He pointed out (verified by copies of x-rays) several mistakes & stated that they looked at least 16 (if not 20) years old in shape, color, bucking ...etc. So I went back to the dentist who did the crowns, pointed it out to him and he offered 1/2 my money back if I sign a release right then. I told him I needed to think about it and get back with him. I then used some of what you & the second local dentist told me (no names mentioned) in an official letter to the original dentist stating all of the mistakes. In the letter I had asked that he offer to either fix his mistakes, have another colleague fix, or give a full refund (minus the consultation fee). He said his secretary would call me in a week. She did, I went in and they had a full refund check waiting.
Now my teeth are beautiful and straight thanks to the second dentist.
I'm no complainer and it took my family (who originally paid for it for my birthday) to push me, but in the end it was well worth the trouble to spend a day writing a letter...
I'd also like to thank you for your time and energy in answering my questions, as you played a large part in getting my teeth fixed properly :)

[scottma]

In dentistry, provisional means similar to temporaries. There is subtle difference. I did'nt mean to show off english, as you are probsably aware that english is not my mother tongue. Provisional implies that final restoration is supposed to be the duplicate of provisional. Temporaries means temporary. If it's not difficult too showing me the picture, you can post the picture. However, it's not mandatory. I do have an image what your teeth look like in my mind. It's not unusual many dentists can not achieve a satisfactory cosmetic result. In order to achieve optimal result, intentional root canal is generally needed. Without sufficient tooth reduction, ideal tooth alignment and contour can not be achieved.Sufficient tooth reduction generally results in pulp exposure which requires root canal. After root canal, post and core is generally needed . Black line adjacent to gum is probably metal coping, subgingival placement of metal margin or porcelain margin can avoid the showing of blackish line.

[GlassPearl]

Thank you, scottma, for your reply. I was told that the permanents would not look like the temporaries (which were just to cover the stubs). After the temporaries (I am assuming is provisionals) were put on, I specifically asked and was told that the permanents wouldn't buck out, be as big or as crooked, yellow and uneven as the temps. But they in fact did end up to be about the same except with the black...

I am wondering if a few photo's would help anyone see what I am talking about? Maybe you can let me know if this is in fact what I should expect for anterior crown work. Maybe "it's just me noticing the wrongs and not the public" as the assistant put it?
Maybe I am expecting too much for such crooked original anterior teetn to begin with?

Please post if you'd like to see photo's. I think I have one (or two?) of the temps, and several of the permanent result. I'll have to dig for a photo of my original, as I rarely if at all showed them in a photo.

Thanks so much again for your help.

[scottma]

Crowning of upper four anterior teeth can generally  yield excellent cosmetic result, in terms of alignment, shade, and smile . However, based on the information provided, intentional root canal treatment is probably needed. Provisional crowns give us the opportunity to foresee the final results, which leaves no guess work. I believe the provionals probably did'nt meet your cosmetic demands. Optimal cosmetic results can be achieved, further discussion with your restorative dentist is advised.