What is Cosmetic Dental Bonding?
Used in a wide range of clinical applications dental bonding is one of the most practical dental procedures for restoring teeth. It involves applying a tooth-colored resin (most of the time a durable plastic material), which is then cured with blue light that aids the bonding of the material to the tooth.
The technique is widely used in many dental practices, including preventive and operative dentistry, pediatric dentistry, prosthodontics, orthodontics, and cosmetic dentistry.
What is Dental bonding for?
Dental bonding is used to repair decayed teeth by bonding composite resins to fill cavities, as well as repair cracked or chipped teeth. Other common uses include fixing discolored teeth, closing the gap between teeth, reshaping of crooked teeth, as well as protecting an exposed root due to receding gums.
Dental bonding is also a good cosmetic alternative to using amalgam fillings.
How is Dental bonding done?
There is often little advance preparation required to do a dental bonding procedure, which takes only 30 minutes to an hour to complete. Cleaning the surface of the tooth is essential and anesthesia is rarely required, unless the procedure is done on a decayed tooth.
A shade guide is used in order to select the color of the composite resin closest to the tooth’s natural color. The bonding process is pretty simple. Once the surface of the tooth is cleaned, it is roughened and coated with a conditioning liquid so that the bonding material can easily adhere to the tooth.
A putty-like resin (tooth-colored bonding material) is then applied, molded, and then smoothed to its desired shape, after which a UV light or laser is used to harden the resin. Once the material has set, it is further trimmed, shaped, and polished to match the rest of the tooth’s surface.
What are the benefits of Dental bonding?
There are many advantages to dental bonding. In addition to being the least expensive form of cosmetic dental procedure, it is also the least expensive. It is ideal for those who want an instant fix for their damaged teeth, because unlike crowns, veneers, and dental inlays, which require customized tooth coverings that are manufactured in separate dental laboratories, dental bonding can be done in one sitting, especially when only one or two teeth needs fixing.
The procedure also has the least impact on the original structure of the tooth, as only a small amount of enamel is removed in the roughening process.
Are there any disadvantages?
Dental bonding resin is stain resistant, but it does is not as good in repelling stains as veneers or crowns. Moreover, bonding materials don’t last as long, nor are they as strong as other restorative materials like veneers, crowns, and fillings as they can get chipped or broken off the tooth.