One popular cosmetic dentistry procedure is dental bonding. It is a procedure in which a person's smile can be greatly improved through the use of a tooth-colored resin material that is bonded to the patient's teeth.
When is dental bonding done?
Dental professionals may consider dental bonding for patients who have a variety of dental issues. Here are some of the possible situations in which a dentist might decide that dental bonding is a good option:
- When a patient has chipped or cracked teeth
- When a patient has decayed teeth
- When a patient has large spaces between his teeth
- When a patient has discolored teeth
- When a patient needs to change the shape of his teeth
- When a patient wants to make his teeth look longer
- When a patient needs fillings--as an alternative to cosmetic amalgam fillings
- When a patient has receding gums and needs to have his exposed teeth's roots protected
Dental Bonding Process
The dentist will roughen the surface of the tooth first. Then he will apply a conditioning liquid. These are both procedures that are done in order to help the dental bonding material adhere to the tooth. Next, the dental bonding material is applied. It is a tooth-colored, puttylike resin. The dentist molds it and smoothes it to the desired shape of the tooth. In order to harden the material an ultraviolet light or a laser is shined on the tooth. When the material is fully hardened, the dentist will trim and shape the dental bonding material further and polish it. The entire process will take less than an hour per tooth.
Advantages of Dental Bonding
This is the easiest of all of the cosmetic dental procedures used to improve a person's smile-and, it is the lease expensive, too. Veneers and crowns, which are other types of customized dental improvements, must be manufactured in a dental laboratory; however, dental bonding can be done right in a dentist's office. Often, it can be done in one dental visit-it only takes more than one visit if there are many teeth that need the dental bonding.
Additionally, with dental bonding there is not a lot of natural tooth material that must be removed. The tooth enamel that is naturally present remains; the dental bonding material is simply applied on top of it after a small amount is roughed off. Anesthesia is not usually required, either, unless the dental bonding is being performed in order to fill a cavity.
