Why get composite teeth bonding?
If you have a cracked, chipped , worn, discoloured tooth, or small gaps between your teeth a cosmetic dental procedure like tooth bonding can restore your confidence to smile.
Composite bonding is a procedure where Dr Christophers applies a tooth-coloured composite resin to one or more of your teeth to restore the tooth to a youthful and cosmetic shape and colour. It’s a very cost-effective solution because it’s significantly less expensive than other cosmetic dental procedures, such as veneers or crowns
Composite bonding can also increase the size of a tooth. For example, you may have a tooth that’s shorter than the rest, and you want them all to be the same length. Or you may have some gaps between your teeth that you want closed, rather than having orthodontic treatment.
Typically, composite bonding takes between 30 to 60 minutes per tooth. Some appointments may take longer depending on the extent of the procedure.
Below are the advantages and disadvantages of this procedure and the costs associated with composite bonding.
What is composite bonding? How does it work?
Composite tooth bonding is simpler than many other cosmetic dental procedures.
The really good news : This procedure rarely requires anesthesia – unless you’re also having a cavity flled at the same time – and doesn’t require multiple visits to the dentist.
Normally we go through a digital smile design process to determine your goals and to plan the bonding to ensure you are happy with the proposed cosmetic plan and can have input into the design process
It may be desirable to do some tooth whitening before the bonding process ,to get the natural or adjacent teeth as white as possible before the bonding process.
We take photos of your teeth with a shade guide to determine the appropriate colour of the resin to be used so that it will match your natural teeth. Dr Christophers will lightly roughen the surface of the tooth, and then applies a high strength adhesive resin to the tooth.
The composite resin is artistically shaped and multiple colours of resin are used to match your natural teeth. Once the shaping is correct a blue light is used to harden the composite resin.
The resin is shaped and polished and you can chew on the tooth straight away- theres no down time.
Are there any risks of composite bonding?
Dental bonding doesn’t have any major risks and in most cases is completely reversible.
It important to know that composite resin used isn’t quite as strong as your natural teeth.
It is possible for the composite material to chip, stain and wear over time.
A composite bonded tooth might chip if you eat ice, chew on pens or pencils, bite your fingernails, bite down on hard food or lollies or grind your teeth in your sleep
The resin also isn’t as stain-resistant as other dental materials. You may develop some discoloration if you smoke or drink a lot of cola or coffee.