Help! I Look Like I Have George Washington’s Wooden Teeth

I’m in tears. I was in an accident that caused me to lose three front teeth. My dentist suggested a removable partial denture. I had no idea how fake they’d look or I’d never have agreed. My front teeth look practically wooden. Is there any other option or am I stuck with these for the rest of my life? Please help.

Sandy M.

Dear Sandy,

Based on your question, it sounds like your dentist only gave you dentures as an option. There are several other options. I’ll list some of them out for you. But, whichever you chose, your current dentist isn’t the one to do the work, for reasons I’ll explain. Because it’s your front teeth, the best dentist you can get is an expert cosmetic dentist. They could have made even removable partial dentures look stunning.

Here’s an example of the different results you can get from dentists. The “before photo” was a dental bridge and crown done by another dentist. The patient came to Dr. Newkirk because the results were so disastrous, similar to what you’re experiencing. The “after photo” is the smile Dr. Newkirk created for her.

The ideal replacement for you would have been to get dental implants, especially if you’re still relatively young. It would protect you from bone loss which leads to facial collapse. This is an advanced procedure which requires surgery, so you’ll want to go to a dentist who has a good deal of post-graduate training and a high success rate.

Another option is to get a dental bridge. Though, the more teeth that need to be replaced, the less reliable a bridge will be. And, if one part of it breaks the whole unit must be replaced.

The point is your dentist should have told you about these options. The fact that he didn’t and he did such a poor job on making your teeth look natural tells me this isn’t the dentist to replace your teeth. As you can see from the images above, the dentist you choose makes a huge difference.

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