My daughter had porcelain veneers placed a few months ago. All of them are doing fine except one, which seems to be turning dark, sort of a bluish color. We tried to get an emergency appointment at our dentists, but he said this wasn’t considered a dental emergency. She is terrified that this veneer will fall off while she is at university. What should we do?

Becky

Dear Becky,

While not technically a dental emergency, it could be considered an aesthetic emergency. I don’t know what is going on with this veneer because I have not examined her or seen any images of her porcelain veneers. However, based on the description of the darkening and bluish color, I am leaning toward thinking she has a leaky veneer. This is when the bond is breaking between the tooth and the veneer, allowing food and other bacteria to get in between the two. This is causing the darker color.

The bad news is that eventually this veneer will fall off as the bond breaks down. When it does fall off, it is fairly easy to bond it back on. Depending on where she is going to school, I am sure you can find a decent cosmetic dentist who will get her in and bond it back on.

If it remains but becomes so unsightly that it embarrasses her, then she can have the veneer removed and replaced. The dentist who originally did her porcelain veneers is ethically obligated to share all his notes and diagnostics with the whichever dentist she ends up going to see to have this repaired.

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