A cosmetic dentist’s mission is to improve the appearance of your mouth, teeth, gums, smile, and facial symmetry. Standard dental services include teeth whitening, veneers, fillings, dental implants, and dental bonding.
What Is Cosmetic Dental Bonding?
Dental bonding is when a tooth-colored composite resin is applied to the tooth and hardened with a special UV light. The light ultimately “bonds” the material to the tooth to restore or improve a person’s smile.
At Palo Alto Dental Center in Palo Alto, CA, we provide dental bonding services, amongst many others. Dental bonding fixes minor imperfections such as repairing chipped teeth or stains. Our teeth are very solid, but they’re certainly not indestructible. Dental bonding works best on healthy teeth that only have minor damage.
Your enamel is naturally one of the most substantial parts of your body. Chipping or cracking a tooth, however, is easier than you think. It is even easier to chip a tooth when you struggle with tooth decay.
How Does Cosmetic Dental Bonding Work?
Dental bonding is a relatively simple procedure. First, your dentist in Palo Alto will clean the area where the bonding resin will be. Then, they choose a resin that matches your tooth color. Afterward, they will attach and mold the resin to the tooth’s shape.
The resin is applied until the area has the desired look, then hardened using ultraviolet light. Once set, the last step is vigorous polishing to match the rest of your teeth.
What is a Dental Bonding Procedure Like?
Teeth bonding is a quick, in-and-out procedure that is entirely painless and long-lasting. In the first stage, your dental team and dentist in Palo Alto choose a composite resin to match the color of your teeth.
The tooth is then prepared and cleaned, then etched with a weak phosphoric acid solution to create a porous surface for better bonding. The rougher surface makes the liquid and the composite resin stick easier.
Next, the resin is incrementally placed onto the tooth, shaped, contoured, and hardened with a curing light. The back of the restoration is then contoured to ensure the bite isn’t off. It is highly polished and buffed to create a natural appearance.
Because of the steps involved, these fillings require a bit more time than silver fillings. At first, composite fillings tend to be more sensitive to extreme temperatures.
How Do I Take Care of a Bonded Tooth?
Even though bonding repairs the tooth, you still need proper oral hygiene at home. Bonding lasts longer if you practice good oral hygiene habits.
Daily brushing and flossing are essential. Eating too many starchy foods and sweets disrupts your mouth’s natural pH levels and increases bacteria production.
Bonding typically lasts 3-7 years, depending on care. Unlike porcelain veneers, dental bonding will stain and chip. So, avoiding chewing on ice cubes, pens, hard foods, and candies is essential. In any case, none of these are suitable for your natural teeth, so it is better to avoid them altogether.
It’s important to remember that composite resin doesn’t resist long-term stains. You’re more likely to experience discoloration if you drink a lot of coffee and red wine or smoke or chew tobacco products.
Stains attach to bonding resin more than natural enamel. And unfortunately, you can’t whiten bonding resin. So, if you stain your bond, you will be stuck with discolored teeth that will eventually need to be replaced.
Read this recent review from B R:
I have been Dr. Morshedi’s patient for over 20 years. Her professionalism and the friendliness of the whole team is outstanding. I have been going with them for complicated procedures and then for keeping up and cleaning. Every visit has been a great experience.
Visit Your Cosmetic Dentist in Palo Alto, California
We know that keeping your smile looking great is essential to you. It would help if you did not have to deal with a complicated and expensive dental procedure when discoloration, minor chips, or spacing occur. At Palo Alto Dental Center in Palo Alto, California, we provide cosmetic dentistry bonding to help solve these minor issues that crop up from time to time.
We want to serve the best dental experience ever. Iif you live in Palo Alto, Mountain View, Redwood City, California, or the surrounding areas. If you have questions about dental bonding, don’t hesitate to get in touch with our dental practice at (650) 494-1122 or email us. Ask about our other cosmetic dental procedures like root canals, dental implants and veneers, and crowns.