What’s the Procedure for Having a Tooth Bonded?

Is your smile a little less bright than it used to be?

Do you have cracked teeth, especially in the front where your best first impression should be evident?

Do you have teeth that are discolored?

How about a tooth or two that is slightly misshaped?

If any of these are the case, you might benefit from a tooth bonding.

Tooth bonding is a fairly simple procedure, performed in less than an hour in the vast majority of cases, that can resolve all of the above conditions and change your smile into what it can be or once was. 

The Procedure for Having a Tooth Bonded:

An initial consultation is recommended to discuss what will be happening and what, if anything, your Dentist will want you to do before proceeding. If the procedure will be performed on only one or two teeth, a simple description of the process and a visualization of what it will look like, when completed, will be all that is necessary. If nothing must be done, by you before the procedure, it may be completed during the same office visit.

• You may need to under go some whitening of your current teeth and, if so, your dentist will indicate this to you and give you directions and supplies. You may be asked to perform this task for several days to several weeks before coming back in for the procedure. This will be explained in great detail by the staff at your dentist’s office.
• When you get into the dentist’s chair, he or she will use a shade guide to find the best match for the tooth that will be worked on. Since a resin will be applied to the outside of the tooth, and since the purpose for this is to make your teeth look better and more comfortable in your mouth, the applied material must match the rest of the teeth. This shade guide will have many options and the resin, itself, can be mixed and matched and the dentist has the experience to make it look right.
• The tooth that is concerned during this procedure will be roughed up to allow for a good bond.
• An etch-ant may be used for this purpose. This is followed by a liquid bonding agent, similar to a light adhesive to hold the resin in place while the next two steps are accomplished.
• The resin material will be shaped and formed, in place, to ensure the contour of the tooth is the same as when it was not a problem. Maybe the tooth needs to be a little longer or a little wider. Maybe a hole must be filled in. This is when this reconstruction takes place. It is smoothed down to ensure there are no sharp edges to interfere with the proper movement of the mouth or tongue.
• An ultraviolet light or laser is then used to bond and harden the material onto the tooth.
• Some polishing of the material will then be done to finish the contour and brighten the sheen of the surface.

Some advantages and disadvantages of Bonding your teeth:

Bonding is one of the most popular cosmetic dentistry procedures as it is the least expensive.

The procedure, per tooth, is less than one hour; most take between 30 minutes and that hour mark.

Less tooth material will have to be removed, if any, and that means less pain involved in this Dentist visit.

No special pains must be taken in additional care for a bonded tooth. Simply follow your dentist’s directions about what to stay away from for the first 24 hours, such as those things that stain teeth.

The bonding material is not as strong as a crown or a veneer, both of which must be fabricated in a lab and are more costly.

You will also not be able to chew on ice chunks, pens or other extremely hard surfaces that should not be put in your mouth, anyway.

Do you need to find out if a bond will assist you? In the Silver Spring, or Chevy Chase, MD areas, contact Dana D. Keith, DDS, P.C. & Associates to schedule an examination so they can assist you in making your smile all it can be.