Something went wrong! Why do your permanent crowns not resemble your temporary crowns? Let me explain what went wrong. Shape first- Crowns are handmade by the dental ceramist and the shapes are determined by his/her knowledge of tooth anatomy. Most crowns are sculpted freely, often with little instruction. A dental ceramist can only copy the shape of temporary crowns if 1. he has been instructed to do this 2. he has the ability to do this 3. he has been given an impression of your mouth in this temporary state, so that he can copy these crowns. 4. he has a photo to copy from. The tooth preparations may have been bulbous and the there may not have been enough space to recreate the crowns like the temporary crowns. Co lour- Temporary crowns are made from acrylic or composite. The colour is uniform from tooth neck to incisal and the optical properties differ to natural teeth and porcelain. If you wanted a lighter colour than your temporary crowns, the dental ceramist must know about this. Did your dentist convey this message? Were photos taken, so that the dental ceramist had the opportunity to see your temporary crowns? Did you visit your dental ceramist? All these facts point to a lack of communication between these professionals. The information has not been conveyed properly to get the end result that you wanted. If your dentist knew that you wanted the permanent crowns shaped like your temporary crowns and he also knew that you wanted a lighter colour than the temporary crowns he should have used his superior knowledge of teeth to make sure that the standards have been met. They did not! Knowing this or not knowing this, the crowns were inserted into your mouth and you were given the opportunity to comment and finally you consented to have them permanently glued into your mouth. This is known as informed consent, which means that you have accepted the crowns. Any complaint after this point is hard to beat, but I do recommend that you return to your dentist and stress your concerns. Perhaps you accepted the crowns because the light in the surgery was very reflective, making the crowns appear lighter or perhaps outside influences may have been persuasive so that you would accept the crowns. Your dentist may do the right thing and satisfy his valued client. Good luck!