What Is Dental Bonding?

Close up of a woman's smile.
Dental bonding can instantly improve the appearance of your teeth.

What Is Dental Bonding?

If you’ve not come in contact with the concept of dental bonding before, understanding it can be a challenge. It’s a bit like dental veneers in the sense that it helps to enhance the appearance of your teeth, but it relies on an entirely different technology.

Instead of porcelain, dental bonding uses a resin substance that dentists place on your teeth to fill in chips or improve the shape of the tooth. It’s a bit like when you plaster over an uneven surface in your house to provide a smooth finish. Dental bonding attempts to achieve the same effect.

When Is Dental Bonding Used?

One of the advantages of dental bonding is how easy it is to use. All the dentist has to do essentially is paint it on, covering up any chips or blemishes, instantly improving the appearance of your teeth.

The advantages of resin over veneers can be considerable in some circumstances. Dental labs have to make veneers that conform to the exact shape of your teeth. There’s a whole process of taking impressions, and manufacturing the veneers – not to mention the expense.

Dental bonding, on the other hand, can be completed in a single visit, making it a far less involved procedure. You arrive at your dental practice, the dentist paints on the resin in a color that matches that of your teeth, sorts out the cosmetic issue, and you’re done.

You can use dental bonding in a variety of situations. The most common application is filling and repairing chipped teeth. Your dentist can shape the resin to fill the gap, restoring the natural beauty of your teeth with minimal downtime. Patients also choose dental bonding to improve the color of their teeth.

Some teeth can become discolored, either because the root died or the person took tetracycline antibiotics in their youth. Here again, the resin can help. The dentist uses dental bonding to change the color of the tooth so that it matches the other teeth or appears more white.

Dentists also use dental bonding when the shape of the tooth is undesirable. Dental resin can lengthen or widen a tooth to help improve your smile.

What Happens During Dental Bonding?

The first step is to find a resin color that matches the rest of your teeth (in the case of a repair). Next, your dentist will abrase your teeth to provide a stickier surface for the resin. After that, they will apply a conditioning liquid which helps the bonding agent to adhere. After preparing the tooth, the dentist will apply the putty-like resin. The resin comes out soft so that the dentist can shape it into the desired form. It is then exposed to a UV light which hardens it.

Is Dental Bonding Safe?

Dental bonding is a highly safe and effective method of improving the visual appearance of your teeth and correcting color issues. Dental resin, however, isn’t as strong as natural tooth enamel so you may have to be careful with how you use your teeth following treatment. You can get dental bonding in Boston at Dental Partners of Boston.

Schedule An Appointment Today

If you are interested in dental bonding to help restore your smile then now is the perfect time to schedule an appointment with Dental Partners of Boston. Our team of Boston cosmetic dentists looks forward to working with you.

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