Not Happy with Crowns

[cas49]

I had 6 crowns put on my top front teeth 2 days ago. I thought they looked good while in the office and told my dentist they were fine but when I got home the more I looked at them they are not white but yellow, they don't look natural, and not the shade I chose. They also have a solid metal back and was told I was getting all porcelain crowns. I am scheduled to get my 6 front bottom teeth done in 2 weeks and I don't want them to look like the top ones. I had to take out a major loan to have this work done. Is and it appropriate to ask my dentist to change my top crowns to the right shade and use all porcelain next time or should I excpect to pay for them all over again since they are cemented in?

[Joface]

I am the queen of crowns and have a number of them in my mouth - what type of crown your dentist suggests is based on a number of factors, such as how hard you are on your teeth (porcelain cracks more easily than either gold or porcelain fused to metal), whether it's an upper or lower tooth and when you chew, what tooth does it occlude with on the other level.  Your dentist should have discussed the plusses and minuses of the different materials crowns can be made from and then you could have decided together what option was best for your situation.  At least in my case, when my dentist prepares the tooth for a crown, I end up getting a temporary for a week or two, until the actual lab created version is sent back.  Then I go in and he takes the temporary off, fits the "real" one until he likes the way it sits in my mouth and then shows it to me before he cements it permanently.  I wouldn't be as fussy if it isn't a front tooth that will be seen by the world.  If it's a back tooth, it doesn't really matter if it's grey or yellow as long as it matches your other real teeth. If it's in the front, don't get it cemented permanently until you're happy with it.  Very few porcelain crowns are all porcelain.....they just don't stand up well against popcorn kernals, etc  (Think about your ceramic tile if you have it and how careful you have to be about it cracking, etc.) So you are probably much better off with the metal backing.  In any case, voice your concerns to your dentist...perhaps he/she has a solution for your concerns.  Jo

[kiki50]

I have a same problem right now.I was supposed to get two crowns for my bottom molars yesterday.One broke during fitting(bad workmanship?) and need to wait 3 more weeks for new one,dentist cemented in the second one without my approval,she didn't even ask me how it look or if color was okay (found out later dentists supposed to ask for approval from patient before cemented in)She  says everything looked good,I took her word for it since I never had a crown before,I thought she wouldnt give me a crappy looking crown because she is a DENTIST.But she did.I went back to work right after dental appt,saw it in the mirror I was extremely upset.I got porcelain crown fused to metal,not all porcelain.Crown didnt even shape like a tooth,looks like a piece of gum stuck on it.That's why the dentist and assistant didnt show the crown for approval,I would have told them to redo it.Tried to call dentist but they closed at 2pm,I did call insurance co same day and complained.called the doctor's office today and told them not happy with the crown.I am going to see the doctor again on Monday to hear what she has to say--probably numb the area and remove(cut out) the crown and get a new one.But the girl who took my call says I will not be charge for the re-do.Always,always,ask to see the crown before cemented in.Will see what happens Monday.

[Newt171]

I went through this issue myself.  I moved and went to a new dentist I had 4 top front teeth done. Tthe girl that picked the color picked the wrong color.  They came in and were permanently put on.  I went home and they were grey.  It took so much to go back and tell him they were the wrong color but, hey, they were my teeth that I wouldl have to look at every day.  He accommodated me and put new ones on...with the silver backs..which I never had before.  I  got mad left and took a trip to my old dentist out of town for advice..this is what he told me.  The dentist should re-do them for you if you are not happy.  All dentist have to do redo's.  He also told me that the difference between the dentist charge and the amount you are being charged are significant.  Meaning the dentist could get another tooth made for maybe $75 to $150.  If he gives you a hard time about replacing them, you can always offer to pay the "cost" price.    I hope this helps.    

[alford76]

You should be able to have the dentist make it right. Gather all papers you received copy them put orginals in safe place (they should have a unseen code on orginals to prove where they were printed or faxed from). Always be polite if possible but make the dentist fix his mistake. I have a crown and so does my son and they are all procelain. Dental work cost way to much even with Ins. and the pain is horrible to not get what you paid for. I plan on carring all my papers (copies) with me to my next appointment .I like you are having major work on my teeth. I paid for bonding of teeth on one visit and they apparently decided while working on others to cut it out. I have a lot of other issues also but I have already complained about the undone bonding and discolor of repair work and now they need to see my proof. My dental work is being done to the tune of $3000.00 so I expect it to be done Right or else. I could buy a used car for what my new teeth are costing and I can't even eat with  them any more..lol

[Poobah]

I am going through the same thing you are.  I had 9 teeth on top done, and the first time the dentist asked me what I thought about the color, I said it was TERRIBLE.  They were very gray.  Then he said, Oh I see, you mean that they need a little bit of yellow at the upper edges to match your other teeth.  I told him I did not want any gray.  So I went back a second time, and he had changed the color somehow.  It looked much better than before, but the office was not illuminated very well, and it was a cloudy day.  So when I got home and looked at them again, at different angles, I realized that all he did was put some yellow on top of the gray!  Thank God, that he could not find the permanant glue, and used the temporary kind instead.  So the next week when I went back to get them glued in, I told him how I did NOT like the color.  That it made my teeth look sickly.  So since it was during the holidays, he said we will have to wait until afterwards to fix them.  I already had paid him in full, but I don't see why he would make me pay more.  Because if the last visit I told him that I didn't like him and didn't pay him...he would of had to re-do them anyway.
In your case though, you already have them cemented in.  The only thing that bothers me is that they told you that you were getting all procelain crowns, and instead gave you porcelain fused to metal.  And the back aren't even porcelain!  That would make me MAD!  

I sympathize with you.  I don't have any advice, but if the dentist is honest, he should try to make you happy.

Let us know how things go.