Bonding at Fairchance Dental

If your teeth have been broken or chipped from a run-in with life, dentists have three ways to repair it:

  • Crowns.
  • Veneers.
  • Bonding.

Dental bonding is the mildest treatment of the three, and the cheapest. It can turn broken smiles into beautiful ones easily.

What is Dental Bonding?

Also known as composite bonding or tooth bonding, this treatment is where a resin material is applied to a clean tooth and shaped to fill in the missing chip. Bonding can also be used to fill in gaps between teeth, meet other cosmetic goals, or even protect the base of teeth sitting in receded gums.

The composite resin is colored to blend in with your existing teeth and formed so your tooth looks like a single piece. A UV light is used to set the material, and your dentist will polish the bonding to endow it with both an aesthetic shine and a smooth feel. One tooth usually takes between half an hour and one hour to complete.

Dental bonding can last between 3 and 10 years, depending on your oral care and habits. This is comparable with the estimated lifespans of most crowns and veneers.

Why Choose Bonding?

Bonding is a great choice for your dental health for the following reasons:

  • It is a surface-level treatment.
  • It is affordable.
  • Bonding looks natural and completes the smile.

Surface-Level Treatment

If you are looking for a chip solution that does not strip away all of your tooth’s enamel, tooth bonding may be the treatment for you. Your tooth will only be cleaned professionally to prepare it for the resin.

Affordable

Another appeal of bonding is its comparative cost. Costs change depending on the local rates and your insurance coverage. This is because each bonding appointment looks a little different, depending on which teeth need fixing and how much bonding material will be needed.

You will typically need two visits to your dentist to prepare your teeth for a successful and beautiful veneer or crown, then a third to install them. The extra labor value is lumped into your bill’s total. Crowns and veneers can also be made from materials that simply cost more than composite resin.

Good-Looking

The resin used for bonding is so moldable that your tooth’s silhouette can be shaped either to its original glory or to cosmetically improved forms. (Cosmetic improvements will always be balanced with concern for comfortable and safe biting motions.) For other applications of tooth bonding, composite resin looks much more natural and subtle than metal fillings.

Things to Consider

Bonding is a cheaper treatment for chipped or broken teeth at the cost of some strength and stain resistance. You will want to live more carefully with your bonding.

Durability

Resin is not as strong as the calcium that your natural teeth are made out of. So your natural teeth will hold their shape longer than the resin can under powerful bite forces. This means your bonding has a greater risk of cracking or breaking before anything else in your mouth does.

The broken resin can be seen as a warning sign to stop what you are doing before your natural teeth are damaged. However, in such a situation you will need to have your bonding replaced or repaired.

Stain-Resistance

Resin is also prone to staining. It is great when we want to dye it to match the exact color of your teeth, but it will still gradually take in dye from your tea, coffee, berries, etc. You may need to cut down on staining foods as a lifestyle change. This can be good for the brightness of all your teeth.

Caring for Your Tooth Bonding

To extend the life and beauty of your bonding,

Do’s:

  • Use mouth guards for contact sports or sleeping.
  • Maintain regular brushing and flossing.
  • Rinse your mouth with water after eating acidic food.

Don’ts:

  • Chew on hard or chewy things:
    • Pencils.
    • Ice.
    • Fingernails.
    • Hard sugar candy.
    • Taffy.
  • Imbibe regularly in stain-causing substances:
    • Tea.
    • Wine.
    • Coffee.
    • Cigarette Smoke.
  • Pick at your tooth bonding.

Need Tooth Repair? Call Us Today!

If you have questions about a chip or other cosmetic concerns, contact your home for a beaming smile for a consultation today!