How Tooth Bonding Works

How bonding works

Part of the beauty of modern cosmetic tooth bonding is its simplicity. The procedure involves simply bonding tooth-colored composite resin to a specific area of your tooth, then shaping, hardening, and polishing it to match your tooth’s natural appearance. Cosmetic tooth bonding works by concealing or rebuilding blemished tooth structure, but its simplicity is only one reason why it’s so effective.  Today, we look at a few more of bonding’s benefits by answering common questions about how it can improve your smile.

What Bonding Does and How It Works

Bonding is a minimally invasive procedure that can help improve the appearance of your smile. During this treatment the cosmetic dentist applies a composite resin material to your teeth, and then sculpts it into shape. This can help erase imperfections such as jagged edges or disproportionally small teeth, and even minor gaps between them. The resin can also adequately cover permanent staining that whitening cannot fix, so you can have a dazzling smile.

Once the resin has been hardened using a special light, and polished to create a sheen, it creates a durable cosmetic enhancement. The resin is actually the same material used for many dental fillings, because of its strength and ability to so seamlessly match natural teeth. It also bonds well with your teeth!

Perhaps best of all, though, bonding can generally be completed in less than an hour during a single dental visit. This allows you to quickly fix concerns with your smile that may have existed for years.

The Basics of Dental Bonding

Bonding is a free hand artistic reshaping and restoring of teeth. It that can be completed in the dentist’s office, in a single office visit. It offers a number of benefits compared to other forms of cosmetic dentistry, while offering similar results to more expensive procedures, such as porcelain veneers.

  • Bonding usually takes less than an hour, and most patients don’t require anesthesia.
  • The dentist can tint the resin material used for the procedure to match your teeth, helping to create seamless results.
  • Once sculpted the resin can help hide permanent staining or discoloration, gaps between teeth, worn edges, disproportionally shaped or sized teeth and more.
  • The material bonds well with teeth, which is why it’s also used for many modern dental fillings.

What can tooth bonding correct?

For many patients, tooth bonding can effectively solve a wide variety of cosmetic and restorative smile concerns. For instance, because it’s highly realistic in its appearance, bonding is often a viable solution for addressing severe teeth stains or repairing chipped or worn tooth edges. Because the resin is durable, it can even withstand regular pressure from biting and chewing, making it a reliable, minimally invasive restoration for cracked teeth, or teeth that exhibit cavities.

What if my bonding becomes damaged?

While tooth bonding is durable, your cosmetic enhancement may become damaged under extreme pressure, such as accidental trauma or chronic teeth-grinding (known as bruxism). Often old composite veneers are replaced with porcelain veneers. Often, there is a tough decision whether to use porcelain veneers or cosmetic bonding in the first place.  One of the benefits of composite bonding is if your bonding does break, then your dentist can fix it conveniently. Because tooth bonding doesn’t require any permanent alterations to your tooth structure, it can often be reapplied in emergency situations to restore your smile’s appearance once again.

Learn more about how bonding works and what it can do for you

Learn more about the many cosmetic smile changes that can be made to your smile. Tooth bonding has become an advanced, highly reliable way to improve one’s smile without needing extensive cosmetic treatment. To learn more, schedule a consultation by calling us in Lake Forest, IL, at 847-234-0517. We also proudly serve residents of  Chicago and all surrounding communities in the Chicago Metro area.