If you’re unhappy with the appearance of your smile, our Long Island dentists can provide you with multiple cosmetic dentistry options to improve your best accessory. A popular choice to consider is affordable dental bonding.
What Is Dental Bonding?
Dental bonding is a cosmetic procedure that consists of fusing a tooth colored composite resin material to the front surface of your teeth in order to improve its appearance. This treatment does come with its benefits, as well as it’s risks. Weighing the pros and cons can help you decide whether or not dental bonding is right for you.
Benefits of Dental Bonding
There are several advantages to getting your teeth bonded, and a variety of reasons why you may choose this procedure over something like whitening, crowns, or veneers.
Dental bonding can be used to:
- Fix chipped teeth
- Cover cracks or hairline fractures
- Improve the appearance of discolored enamel
- Lengthen short teeth
- Close in the spaces of gapped smile
- Change the shape of crooked or pointed teeth
- Make your smile look more uniform
In addition to having the above benefits, dental bonding is non-invasive because there is little or no preparation that needs to be done to the natural tooth. In fact, in most cases, this procedure doesn’t even require anesthesia and there’s little to no drilling involved, which most people appreciate.
Compared to other cosmetic dental procedures, teeth bonding is a fracture of the cost. A lot of people choose bonding over porcelain veneers or braces, because this simple treatment provides you with same day results 一there’s no need to wait for weeks or months before seeing what your new smile will look like.
Risks of Dental Bonding
As you can tell, there are a lot of benefits to getting teeth bonded; however, there are also some risks and downfalls to this treatment compared to other options out there.
Risks/disadvantages of dental bonding may include:
- Bonding can stain over time.
- The material can chip and break off your tooth.
- Composite resin material will need to be replaced occasionally throughout the future
- Depending on how often you have to replace your bonding, it may be best for you to choose porcelain veneers to begin with 一 although though a larger investment, veneers don’t need to be replaced nearly as often.
The Teeth Bonding Procedure
The procedures required to have your teeth bonded are fairly simple. You shouldn’t need numbing medication as long as your teeth aren’t sensitive and/or our dentist doesn’t need to file the outer layer of your enamel.
Once the surface of your enamel is “roughened” or slightly shaped, we’ll place a series of gels and liquids on the prepped area to get it ready. These crucial steps will help the bonding material stick better and last longer.
After the tooth has been properly conditioned, we’ll apply a putty-like resin to the area being bonded and mold it to the desired shape. Composite is available in many different shades so we’ll be sure to use one that matches your natural enamel.
To set the resin, we’ll shine a special light over the area that hardens the material in seconds. The last step in the teeth bonding procedure is a final smoothing and polish of the tooth and material. From start to finish you could be looking at anywhere from 15-60 minutes, depending on the number of teeth being bonded and if you require anesthesia or not.
Caring For You Dental Bonding
There are several things that you can do to help ensure that your new smile lasts as long as it’s intended:
Stay On Top of Your Oral Hygiene
To preserve your newly bonded teeth you’ll want to care for it and your tooth properly. Don’t forget that you should be brushing twice a day and flossing regularly. By doing so, you’ll not only be protecting your bonding 一 you’ll be preventing cavities and gum disease as well.
Choose The Right Oral Care Products
Some toothpaste can be too harsh on bonded teeth. Choose one that is non-abrasive and has stain removing properties.
Whether you have composite resin on your teeth or not, you should always be using a soft bristle toothbrush 一nothing harder. Hold the brush gently in your hand, don’t brush forcefully. The bristles are meant to glide over your teeth, not bend or flatten.
Visit Our Suffolk County Dentist Regularly
Scheduling at least two dental cleanings per year will help preserve your cosmetic work by allowing us to polish the teeth regularly 一 keeping them looking clean and attractive. If we spot any mild stains, we can likely go ahead and smooth them out before they get too out of hand.
Avoid Certain Dark Drinks
Remember that bonding materials can stain, because the resin is somewhat porous. Avoid dark liquids like red wine, black coffee, dark sodas and tea. When you do decide to enjoy them now and again, consider drinking through a straw and/or rinsing your mouth out with water immediately afterward.
Smoking Is A No-No
Smoking and other nicotine use is highly discouraged. Not only can it cause oral cancer but these products can stain your bonding rather quickly.
Bite Carefully
To help prevent chips, breaks and debonding, avoid biting your nails or chewing hard objects like pencils and ice, and don’t bite into anything hard 一 for example, fishing line, plastic packaging, your fingernails, and crunchy foods like apples or carrots.
Inspect Bonding Regularly
Get familiar with how your new bonded teeth look and feel. Inspect the material regularly by looking closely in the mirror for stains, and feeling for any snags or rough spots with your tongue.
As soon as you notice something has changed about your bonding, be proactive and let us know. We can typically smooth most areas before they become a problem.
Dental Bonding in Suffolk County
Sachem Dental is a multi-specialty general dentistry practice in Long Island. Our cosmetic dentists care for all your oral needs, including cosmetic improvements. To learn more about dental bonding or other aesthetic options for enhancing your smile, call our Long Island dentists today. We’ve proudly served our community for over 35 years.