Bonding is a popular method to enhance the aesthetics of your smile. Bonding can be used to correct cracks or spaces in teeth, as a filling after a cavity has been removed, or to cover stains or discolored teeth.
A composite resin is used on the affected tooth or teeth. It is molded and sculpted over an adhesive gel that is placed on the tooth. After the resin has been applied, light is used to harden the resin, which is then polished to give you a fresh, new smile.
Bonding is an obvious improvement over unsightly silver amalgam fillings in back teeth. With the advancements in dental technology, bonding usually lasts for over 10 years and up to 30 years or more. It is a safe, affordable, and attractive solution for many dental problems.
Before After
Tooth #7 was broken and restored with a bonded material instead of a crown.
Disadvantages of porcelain veneers:
My opinion is that porcelain veneers are in many cases the weakest restorations in dentistry. They are beautiful but very thin structures which can lose their bond with the tooth structure and are subjected to very strong forces when eating. Sometimes people use their teeth as a tool for just an instant, and the porcelain breaks and that becomes an expensive disaster.
This is not to say that I don’t make them or recommend them but patients should always be mindful of how they use them.
Some cosmetic procedures are very simple and inexpensive. Reshaping and contouring irregular natural teeth can be done in minutes and can yield dramatic results.
Simple bonding of front teeth with tooth colored filling material to close spaces or repair broken edges can often be performed.
Pictured here is a patient on whom we placed composite fillings on four of the teeth and porcelain veneers on two of the teeth, the lateral incisors. The result was excellent, the treatment was conservative, and the cost was far less that placing porcelain veneers on all teeth.
Before After
I always try to be conservative in my approach, I plan treatment based on what I would want done for myself and family.
Procedure
The bonding procedure is usually completed in one visit. The first step is to remove the decayed or unsightly portion of the tooth. The tooth is then etched with a liquid or gel and a bonding agent is then applied. This will allow the composite resin to be placed in the prepared tooth. The resin is then trimmed and polished, leaving you with a beautifully sculpted, natural-looking restoration.
