What is dental bonding?

 

Dental Bonding is a cosmetic dental procedure during which can improve the appearance of peoples smiles by using a tooth coloured resin material to fill gaps and cover over imperfections in your teeth. During the procedure your dentist will apply a dental composite material on to your teeth which can be moulded into the shape of your tooth. Also known as cosmetic bonding the procedure can be used:

 

• Filling gaps in teeth
• Repairing chipped and broken teeth
• Repairing decayed teeth – white fillings
• Changing the shape of teeth
• Replacing amalgam of metal fillings

 

What does the procedure involve?

 

Cosmetic Bonding should be a straight forward process and takes between 30 minutes and an hour per tooth. If local anaesthetic is required your dentist will give you the injection for this however, quite often it is not necessary (usually required for fillings only). Firstly your dentist will clean the tooth that the composite is going to be applied to as it needs a clean surface to bond to. A shade guide will be used to allow the dentist to a select a composite resin that will closely match the colour of your tooth.

 

Next the surface of the tooth will be etched to create a rough surface as the resin will bond easier with a rough surface. The tooth is now ready and the composite material will be applied. The material has a putty like texture and will be moulded into the desired shape. An ultraviolet light or laser is the used to speed up the hardening process. Once the resin has become hard, your dentist will further trim and shape it. He will then polish it to match the rest of the tooth surface.

 

What are the advantages of cosmetic bonding?

 

The main advantage of cosmetic bonding is that is one of the cheapest and easiest to perform cosmetic dental procedure. It can improve the appearance of your smile in one visit to the dentist. Unlike crowns and veneers it requires very little if any of your tooth enamel to be removed before it is fitted.

 

There are two main disadvantages to using cosmetic bonding to improve your smile. The material used in cosmetic bonding is not as stain resistant as crowns and veneers and may stain more than the surrounding teeth over time. Also the material is used in cosmetic bonding is not as strong as porcelain and may not last as long as other restorative methods. It can chip or break over time.