What is Cosmetic Bonding?

13th February 2020

What is Cosmetic Bonding?

Cosmetic Bonding is to teeth what “Wrinkle correction treatment” is to faces

It can make you appear years younger by restoring your teeth to their former glory. Removing stains, restoring chips and uneven surfaces, replacing the edges on worn and ground down teeth.

Bonding is the application of a tooth-coloured composite resin (plastic) to repair a decayed, chipped, fractured, discoloured tooth. It can be also used to make teeth appear longer, and as a cosmetic alternative to amalgam fillings. Unlike veneers, which are manufactured in a laboratory and require an impression and ultimately a customized mould to achieve a proper fit, bonding can usually be completed in a single visit. The procedure is called bonding because the material bonds to the tooth.

Bonding requires a lot of skill and training on the dentist’s part, never be afraid to ask your chosen dentist about their skills, training and experience, a dentist with a special interest in this type of cosmetic procedure will regularly update their knowledge and keep up to date in the most recent techniques and products. They should also be able to provide high quality before and after images and facts and figures regarding the success and longevity of their own cases they have completed.

The treatment itself for patients among the gentlest and least expensive of cosmetic dental procedures. The composite resin used in bonding can be shaped and polished to match the surrounding teeth. Most often, bonding is used for cosmetic purposes to improve the appearance of a discoloured or chipped tooth. It also can be used to close spaces between teeth, to make teeth look longer (making the patient look younger) or to change the shape or colour of teeth, or to protect a portion of the tooth’s root that has been exposed when gums recede. No preparation is needed for bonding. Anesthesia often is not necessary, unless the bonding is being used to fill a decayed.

The composite resin used in bonding isn’t as strong as a natural tooth. Biting your fingernails or chewing on ice or pens can chip the material. Bonding usually lasts several years before it needs to be repaired, however it will need an annual polish. How long it actually lasts depends on how much bonding was done, how your teeth meet together and your oral habits. This is why thorough assessment is also very important. to ensure you are a suitable candidate for this treatment.