I need some advice. I have one dental crown where the gum is showing a black line at the gumline. Plus, three porcelain veneers were getting old and starting to chip. My dentist is suggesting crowning all my upper and lower teeth because my teeth aren’t very white. I’m a little concerned about this and want to know if this is the right course of action. If not, what would you recommend?

Camille

Dear Camille,

I am so glad you are writing to me now before your dentist had a chance to do this work on you. Based on what you said, your dentist is wanting to crown all of your teeth because they are not white enough? That’s insane. I am hoping there is some other issue going on he didn’t explain. If not, I wouldn’t trust this dentist.

The true solution for teeth that aren’t white enough is to do professional teeth whitening. However, that would only bring him a few hundred dollars. Whereas the procedure he is encouraging would cost you between $30 and $60 thousand dollars. Additionally, crowning every tooth is known as a full-mouth reconstruction. It is highly advanced and should only be tried by dentists who have done extensive post-doctoral training in reconstructive dentistry.

There is a lot that can go wrong with a full-mouth reconstruction. He will be rebuilding a bite for you. This can change your bite, your face shape, how you talk; not to mention if he is even a little off you could end up with painful issues from TMJ Disorder.

Getting a Beautiful Smile the Right Way

Here is my recommendation to you. First, the only dental crown you should get is to replace the old one. The rest of your teeth with dental work that needs replacing should be done with new porcelain veneers.

The first step will be to get your teeth bleached. This way any adjacent teeth you don’t have veneers on will blend in better with the teeth that do. Any dentist can do that procedure. If you are in a hurry to get this done, find a dentist who offers Zoom in-office whitening. After that, you will want an expert cosmetic dentist. Creating beautiful smile makeovers is an art form that requires training and practice. This training is not given in dental school, so a dentist interested in cosmetic work has to invest in it after they graduate.

Those who are at the top of the field in cosmetic dentistry are accredited with the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry (AACD). These dentists have passed rigorous exams and provided visual evidence of a large number of cases they’ve performed in order to show their artistry.

As for your dental crown. The reason yours is showing a gray line at the gumline is because whoever placed your crown placed a porcelain fused to metal crown. When you are dealing with front teeth, you need an all-porcelain crown to prevent this from happening. A true cosmetic dentist will know this, so find the right dentist and you’ll have no problems with your smile.

This blog is brought to you by La Jolla Cosmetic Dentist Dr. Stephen Doan.