Tooth bonding addresses a multitude of dental concerns. Do you find yourself at times hesitating to smile because of compromised confidence due to a chipped tooth or discolored teeth? If you are not 100 percent satisfied with your smile, cosmetic dentistry in the form of tooth bonding may be for you. It can provide a very natural and esthetically-pleasing result you may be a candidate for.
You will want to have a conversation with your dentist about your concerns and to learn what cosmetic options are available. Tooth bonding has the ability to alter many smile-inhibitors. If you suffered trauma to your mouth and have broken or chipped teeth, tooth bonding may be the answer for you. Do you have cavities and don’t want an attention-grabbing filling, are your gums receding and causing discomfort, are your teeth discolored or do you have mini gaps between some teeth? Cosmetic dentistry will answer all of these questions. Ask to see your dentist’s book of before-and-after photos of patients; see beautiful results for yourself.
Tooth bonding is a great advancement in cosmetic dentistry. Some years ago when silver fillings were commonplace a tooth required invasive preparation to keep a filling in place. Much of a tooth needed to be removed to keep the silver filling from eventually falling out. New tooth-bonding procedures are conservative requiring a very small amount of the tooth structure to be removed. This cosmetic-dentistry procedure will cause the dental material to adhere to the tooth surface.
The dentist trained in cosmetic procedures will ‘glue’ the restoration to your tooth. Cosmetic dentistry goes high-tech with tooth bonding. After the appropriateness of tooth bonding to your particular condition is determined, your dentist will begin to prepare the tooth by removing only the part of the tooth involved.
When the removal is complete, your tooth will be treated with a mild etching solution. Etching serves to slightly roughen the tooth’s enamel surface so the restorative material will bond. You may liken this roughening to lightly sanding a surface before applying paint or using a base coat before nail polish. Tooth bonding is about adhering.
Your dentist will then apply a bonding agent followed by a tooth-colored composite resin material. These cosmetic-dentistry materials are available in many shades and will match if you have pearly whites or not so much.
Once the composite resin has been applied your dentist will shape the material to achieve your desired result. The final two steps are to shine a curing light on the tooth to harden the material and then to polish the restored tooth to a beautiful, natural finish.
While a tooth bonding dental appointment takes a bit longer than a traditional silver-filling appointment, generally these restorations can be completed in one dental visit. You may find that cosmetic dentistry is a bit more expensive than more traditional procedures but the restorations will usually last longer too.
Cosmetic dentistry is nothing short of amazing. The results to be achieved with tooth bonding will be such a boost to our sense of confidence allowing you to smile from ear to ear. Look – there you are in the before-and-after photo book! Gorgeous.
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