Dental Bonding With Smart Family Dentistry
Chipping or cracking a tooth can be especially stressful. Between the oral pain, the visit to the dentist, and the cost of reparations, the stress can be crippling. Luckily, not all chips or cracks have to be extracted. Chips in teeth can be restored using a process called bonding.
What Is Bonding?
Bonding is the process of applying a tooth-colored composite resin, or plastic, to repair a discolored, broken, or chipped tooth. Considered to be cosmetic dentistry, bonding is the quickest and least expensive procedure among the cosmetic dentistry field. The process involves placing a white, or tooth-colored resin filling onto the affected tooth. The resin then “bonds” to the affected tooth, creating a near perfect match in natural appearance. The resin is then hardened using a bright blue dental light, called a curing light. Bonding can be applied to front or back teeth. Depending on the stresses, home care routines, and frequency of regular care, bonding can be a great short, intermediated, or long range solution for broken or chipped teeth.
What Are The Advantages Of Bonding?
Bonding has many advantages, but the most prominent is the price and ease of application. Unlike a dental crown or veneer, which has to be manufactured in a lab well in advance, a single tooth can be restored, via bonding, in a single visit to the dentist's office. In addition, bonding requires the least about of tooth enamel to be removed prior to the procedure. Finally, if the chip or break in the tooth is minor,an anesthetic is neither needed nor required. Let’s not forget, dental bonding can also help improve a smile.
What Are The Disadvantages Of Bonding?
Compared to a dental crown, filling, or veneer, dental bonding is not as durable. Bonding cracks and wears down over time. Often, dental bonding doesn’t last as long as a conventional filling, dental crown, or veneer. Also, although dental bonding is stain resistant, it is still less stain resistant than a standard dental crown.