What Is Dental Bonding?
This procedure uses composite resin, the same material used to fill small to medium-sized cavities in teeth. Composite resin comes in a huge range of shades, making it easy for our cosmetic dentist to precisely match the color of your natural teeth.
Also referred to as cosmetic bonding or teeth bonding, this treatment can enhance your smile as part of a complete smile makeover. During treatment, we apply tooth-colored composite resin directly to your tooth surfaces.
What Are the Benefits of Dental Bonding?
Treatment can be useful in a variety of situations, which include:
- Mending small chips or cracks in teeth.
- Masking discolored or stained teeth
- Closing or minimizing spaces between teeth
- Lengthening worn teeth or teeth that are too short
- Changing the overall shape of teeth so they look more cosmetically pleasing
- Realigning teeth that are slightly crooked
Dental bonding is usually quick and can typically be completed during a single visit to Clock Tower Dental. It is also very affordable compared with other treatments like porcelain veneers.
However, it’s important to realize that although the results of dental bonding are noticeable, they are not as dramatic as some other treatments, like porcelain veneers. When you visit our dental office, we can show you photos of dental bonding before and after to help you decide if this treatment is right for you.
What Is the Procedure for Dental Bonding?
Before any treatment, we want to ensure it is safe and appropriate and meets your cosmetic goals. An initial consultation with our cosmetic dentist will help us assess your teeth and gums to ensure you are eligible for dental bonding. It will likely include digital dental X-rays.
If you have gum disease or large cavities in your teeth, we must treat these first. Once we have ensured you are suitable for treatment and that it will provide the desired outcome, we can schedule your procedure.
What to Expect During Dental Bonding
Usually, local anesthetic isn’t necessary since we most likely will not remove any tooth structure. Sometimes, we may remove a minimal amount of tooth enamel during this type of treatment to help create a more cosmetically pleasing outcome. Removing this amount of tooth structure should not be painful or uncomfortable.
- Our dentist will select a shade of composite resin. We may combine several shades to get an exact match.
- Your tooth is prepared with an etching liquid that slightly roughens the surface. A rougher surface helps enhance the bond between your tooth and the composite resin.
- The etching liquid is rinsed away, and your tooth is dried before a conditioning liquid is applied. The conditioning liquid helps the composite resin bond more strongly to your tooth.
- Our dentist will apply the composite resin material in small increments. It is hardened with a special light that cures the material and helps it bond firmly to your tooth.
- Once all the composite resin is in place, our dentist will carefully shape and smooth it, creating the correct contours before polishing it.
The entire procedure typically takes anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour per tooth to complete.
How to Look After Your Cosmetic Bonding
You don’t need to do anything special to look after your teeth once they have been bonded. You can brush and floss them normally. However, following a good oral hygiene routine will help prolong the results of your teeth contouring treatment.
How Long Will Cosmetic Bonding Last?
You can reasonably expect the results to last several years, but composite resin can stain after a while. The rate of staining depends on your lifestyle habits. If you smoke or love your coffee, your dental bonding will stain more quickly.
Having your teeth cleaned professionally will help dental bonding last longer. It also pays to avoid other habits that could damage your dental bonding, such as biting your nails, using your teeth to open packets, or biting down on very hard foods.
How Much Will Dental Bonding Cost?
Dental bonding is one of the more affordable cosmetic dentistry services. The price depends on the number of teeth requiring this treatment, the time needed to complete it, and how much material is required.
When you visit our dental office, we can discuss how many teeth may benefit from this treatment and give you a precise quote.
Does Dental Insurance cover Cosmetic Bonding?
It depends on whether the results are purely cosmetic or provide any restorative benefits.
For example, if you have a tooth that is chipped or cracked, mending it with composite resin could help preserve and protect it and could be considered restorative. Your dental insurance may cover at least part of the cost in this case.
In comparison, lengthening a tooth or covering it because it is stained would be cosmetic and not covered under dental insurance.
Are You Interested in Reshaping Teeth with Dental Bonding?
Contact us if you wish to learn more about this affordable treatment. It is a quick and easy way to refresh your smile, providing results that should last several years with the right after-care.