While we’re growing up, we all develop a set of lovely and functional teeth. However, eventually life takes its toll on our beautiful white teeth; eating, smoking, drinking beverages that stain our teeth wrecked havoc on our attractive smile. Fortunately, there’s a solution to this problem! Have you considered tooth bonding (also called dental bonding)?

The Facts about Tooth Bonding
Tooth bonding is a specialized dental cosmetic surgery procedure. Your dentist will apply a composite resin that will adhere to your discolored teeth. Dental bonding is an excellent way to accomplish tooth whitening well as correcting many tooth imperfections such as chipped or cracked teeth. Tooth bonding also replaces silver fillings and decayed parts of your teeth. Tooth bonding is also used to instantly correct unsightly broken front teeth.

This type of dental bonding involves a composite resin that consists of plastic material that also contains fillers and other material that is added to the resin to achieve certain desired effect. For example, if you would like to replace a silver filling on one of your back molars, the composite resin needed to accomplish this must be strong and durable, since these are your “chewing teeth.” Since your smile doesn’t involve these teeth, the tooth bonding procedure doesn’t involve color consistency that matches your other teeth. However, keep in mind that tooth bonding is a sought-after remedy because the composite resin can easily be enhanced with pigments that match the natural color of your teeth.

In dental bonding, the composite resin used is made into material with a paste-like consistency; it will be applied to your teeth and then carefully sculpted by your dentist so that is appears completely natural. The composite resin hardens very quickly when exposed to a high-intensity light. The next part of tooth bonding is for your dentist to buff and polish your “new” teeth so that it creates a lovely, translucent shine. Have you ever noticed that actors, actresses and models have perfectly aligned white, beautiful teeth? They didn’t “grow” these teeth; the answer for them was tooth bonding.

Steps Involved in Tooth Bonding
The first step in pursing dental bonding is to select a competent cosmetic dentist who performs this procedure routinely. During your first appointment, your dentist will ask questions about your tooth problems and what you would like to achieve with tooth bonding. Next, your dentist will then provide you with an estimate of the cost of your dental bonding procedure. The price takes into account the two types of tooth bonding: a one-time session and multiple sessions.

The next step is for you to decide what type of tooth bonding you need. One-time sessions are for minor corrections like small, natural looking fillings in your “smile teeth.” Multi-session dental bonding is the solution for more complex and enhanced tooth corrections with porcelain veneers that are customized in a dental lab.

Whatever type of tooth bonding you select, your dentist will need to reduce your tooth’s enamel through “etching” or “shaving” your tooth so that the composite resin can easily be fitted and sculpted on top of your tooth. Applying the resin or veneer without this step will cause unsightly and uncomfortable “fat teeth.”

How much does Tooth Bonding Cost?
Tooth bonding may sound expensive, but in reality it is very affordable when compared with other more expensive cosmetic surgery and dental bonding procedures. The price of tooth bonding depends upon how many of your teeth need this treatment and the type of dental bonding required. On average, you can expect to pay about $200 to $600 per tooth that is corrected with composite resin.

What Are the Pros and Cons of Tooth Bonding?
The pros of tooth bonding are that it may be accomplished in just one visit to your dentist, it is affordable, it is not painful, and the bond holds for many years. Compare tooth bonding with silver fillings: the average bond holds for about twelve years, while the lifespan of silver fillings is only about seven years. With tooth bonding, you get a lot for your money.

Another benefit is that the materials used in tooth bonding results in a perfect color match with your other teeth. It also flexible enough to expand and contract with your natural teeth, thus preventing cracks and chips.

The cons of tooth bonding are that it tends to stain over time. If you smoke or drink coffee, tea or red wine, this accelerates staining and you will need regular dental maintenance on your bonds to remove the stains.

Another con of tooth bonding is that some people cannot afford the procedure. If you are in a line of work that demands a beautiful smile, it could still be difficult for you to afford bonding. But if your primary desire is to simply whiten your teeth, using an at-home kit is both affordable and effective.

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This entry was posted on Thursday, September 6th, 2007 at 12:44 am and is filed under Cosmetic Dentistry . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.