Should I Get Cosmetic Dental Bonding?

If you suffer from embarrassing or unsightly chips or uneven wear on your teeth, you may be wondering what your options are for repairing them.

While solutions like dental implants and veneers can be costly and sometimes unnecessary, cosmetic dental bonding is often an excellent choice. Here’s what you need to know about this beneficial treatment, and how to determine if it’s right for you!

What is Cosmetic Dental Bonding?

Cosmetic dental bonding is a treatment that uses a tooth-colored composite resin to essentially rebuild a tooth damaged by chipping or wear. It can also close small gaps in between teeth or change the shade of a tooth with excessive stains or discoloration.

Because it uses the same materials utilized by your dentist for metal-free fillings, cosmetic dental bonding is also durable and functional for chewing; however, because it is not as strong as your natural teeth or other restoration materials like porcelain, it can still break or become discolored if you don’t take proper care of it. Thus, don’t use a bonded tooth to chew ice, crunch hard candies, or tear packaging. Furthermore, if you do eat a diet heavy in discoloring foods, be sure to brush well and floss after each meal or beverage to avoid discoloring.

Cosmetic dental bonding can last up to ten years with proper care and usage; however, it typically stays in place between five and ten years.

How Do I Get Cosmetic Dental Bonding?

Thankfully, cosmetic dental bonding is a minimally invasive procedure. In fact, it’s completely painless, and unless you need your tooth prepared, it should not require numbing. The treatment itself is fast, too. To treat one tooth should take under 30 minutes from start to finish.

To correct your tooth, your dentist will ensure that it’s clean and does not require any reshaping. Once the tooth is ready, he or she will attach the putty-like bonding material directly to it and apply a painless light to the material, so it hardens (in just a few minutes). Once the bonding material is solid, your dentist may want to buff the tooth and will make sure your bite is correct. Once this is done, you can go home and enjoy your new smile with no downtime or dietary restrictions!

Remember, cosmetic dental bonding is an affordable, effective, natural-looking treatment that restores the shape, size, and color of a damaged tooth. With proper care and usage, this minimally invasive procedure can yield excellent results for up to ten years. To find out if cosmetic dental bonding is right for you, contact your dentist for more information.