From teeth whitening to gum grafts, dentists have been working on making mouths look better for decades. Though bonding material has been used for years to seal cavities, it has become more useful to the cosmetic dentistry side of the tooth-related world than any other sector. If you're interested in how bonding material can help improve the look of your smile, then here's what you need to know.
Bonding is quite versatile
Bonding is mostly used to repair chipped, cracked, or decaying teeth to their perfect form, or to patch up roots that might be exposed. It also can reshape teeth, make them look longer, re-color stained teeth, or fill in gaps between teeth that are spaced too far apart, but that can't be aligned more closely with braces (due to the larger root structure within the gums). All in all, bonding material works as a sort of cure-all for cosmetic ills -- making it one of the most important tools within a cosmetic dentist's box of tricks.
There's very little preparatory work to do
Your dentist really won't have to do much to get your teeth ready for whatever bonding procedure is going to be taking place. While obviously the tooth needs to be clean and dry for the dentist to work with it, there's nothing else actually necessary to begin. If your dentist is bonding over where a cavity was, you might be given some light anesthesia, but other than that, you should be in for a relatively no-frills appointment -- and, depending on the amount of area to be covered, it might be a short visit as well, as bonding a tooth generally takes about half an hour from start to finish.
It really is a truly cosmetic procedure
Your dentist will have to pick out a shade of material that most closely resembles that of your actual teeth -- if you get it too white, your other teeth will look yellow (or grey) in comparison. After the material is hardened with a UV light wand, your dentist will become a sort of tooth sculptor, filing and shaping the bonding material so that it looks as much like a natural tooth as possible. Once the shape is finished, the tooth (or teeth) will get a final polish to get them smile ready -- and you'll be able to walk out the door with confidence in a newly perfect smile.
Share19 June 2015
Do you remember the last time you looked at your smile and really loved what you saw? A few years ago I started spending more time analyzing my appearance, and I noticed that my teeth were seriously lacking. I knew that I had to do something to improve the situation, so I began focusing on loving my smile by getting some work done. I started talking with a dentist about how he could help, and it was really incredible to see the simple difference that he was able to make. Within a few years, my smile looked and felt completely different, and I was really pleased with the results. Check out this blog for great information on making your smile more beautiful.
