Dental bonding is a procedure that utilizes a composite resin to shape your teeth and your smile. Typically, a dentist may use dental bonding to fill a cavity. Unlike some filling materials, composite resin is tooth-colored, meaning it will blend with the color of your teeth. In fact, your dentist will carefully match the color of the bonding to your natural teeth.
Additionally, dentists may use dental bonding to protect your tooth’s roots. For example, if you have receding gums due to age or gum disease, a dentist may use dental bonding to prevent your tooth’s roots from being exposed.
However, dental bonding is incredibly versatile, so dentists can actually use it for many cosmetic procedures. Unlike other cosmetic dental procedures, dental bonding is reversible. For example, dental veneers are a permanent process because a dentist must remove a portion of the enamel to place the veneer. This means that you will always need some form of veneer or crown to protect your teeth. Yet, dental bonding is removable if you desire it.
What Is It For?
Dentists will commonly use dental bonding to fix chipped or broken teeth.
Since dental bonding has many cosmetic uses, you can request dental bonding for structural changes in your teeth. This means that your dentist can use bonding to lengthen your teeth if they are smaller than what you would like.
Additionally, a dentist can utilize dental bonding to close gaps between your teeth. Sometimes, you don’t need orthodontic work in order to close the gaps in your teeth. Braces or aligners are not always necessary because it depends on your teeth.
If you desire a whiter smile, you might initially think of professional whitening treatment. Whitening will work for many patients. However, there are some coloration issues that whitening treatments cannot solve. Medications and dental trauma can cause discoloration in the teeth that cannot be altered with traditional whitening treatments. Luckily, dental bonding can camouflage most coloration issues.
What Is The Process?
If you need dental bonding for any procedure, your dentist will match the shade to your teeth. This will ensure a seamless finish. If you are looking for a whiter smile, your dentist will consider this, and you can choose a whiter shade.
Next, the surface of your tooth needs preparation. This will make the surface rougher, helping the resin cling to your tooth. You can rest easy knowing that not much of the surface will need removing. In fact, it is more like a cross-hatching rather than removing parts of your enamel.
Then, your dentist will add the resin to your tooth. Before it sets, your dentist will shape the resin to its necessary shape. Here, your dentist may match the form to another tooth if you have a chipped tooth. If they are closing a gap or lengthening your teeth, they can shape them as desired.
Curing the resin with a light is the next step. This hardens the material and bonds it to the surface of your teeth. Finally, your dentist will polish the new surface.