I have several porcelain veneers and crowns. Recently I popped off a veneer from the left lateral incisor. Some of the natural tooth came off as well. I am not in the city where the veneers were applied so I went to the dentist of a friend. I can do a better job with super glue than this dentist did, then again, he is a generalist not cosmetic. What I really need is a crown on this tooth now since so much natural tooth is gone. Worse luck I lost my business and am unemployed. Any suggestions? I am afraid that by not having anything to protect the tooth I am losing more natural tooth than ever.
- Robin from Tennessee
Robin,
If it’s just a matter of a porcelain veneer coming off, if it is cleaned properly and treated with the proper primers and bonding agents, it can easily be bonded back on to the tooth. Even if part of the tooth had broken off with the veneer, it could be temporarily fastened together with good bonding technique. But the dentist needs to be fairly expert in cosmetic dentistry techniques, and my guess would be that few general dentists would be able to do this.
I don’t know how your friend’s dentist fastened this piece back on your tooth or if it can be undone and done over, but with a temporary repair like this it could last for up to several months. Otherwise you may need a porcelain crown. If we saw it, we could give you a more specific prognosis.
In our office, we try to provide needed affordable dental care and try to help people fit it into their budgets, especially if they have hardships. You might ask around where you live and see if a dentist will do this for you.