Cosmetic Bonding can Do Wonders for Your Teeth

Have you put off improving your smile because you assumed that correcting your issues would involve lengthy or costly dental treatments? Cosmetic bonding offers a quick, simple, relatively inexpensive way to address many tooth imperfections. Our Aiea, HI, dentist, Dr. Gale Marana, explains how bonding can enhance your smile.

What is cosmetic bonding?

Composite resin, a soft material made of plastic and powdered glass, is applied to your tooth to conceal flaws or change the look of a tooth during the bonding process. When the resin is exposed to a curing light, it bonds to your enamel, becoming a permanent part of your tooth. Bonding doesn't usually require any anesthesia and may be performed in conjunction with reshaping, a treatment that removes small amounts of enamel to eliminate overlapping tooth edges or improve the shape of a tooth.

How can cosmetic bonding help me?

Cosmetic bonding is often used to:

• Repair Chips and Small Breaks in Teeth: Bonding fills in chips at the bottom of your teeth and can also be used to reattach small pieces of broken teeth in our Aiea office. Larger breaks may require a crown and possibly root canal treatment.
• Conceal Cracks: Crowns are the best choice if you have a large or deep crack, but cosmetic bonding offers an excellent way to hide shallow cracks that don't extend beyond your enamel.
• Hide Flaws and Discolorations: Adding a few layers of bonding material to your teeth conceals bumps, pits, discolorations, and other imperfections from view. Composite resin is available in a range of tooth-colored shades to ensure that your dental work isn't noticeable.
• Close Gaps: Bonding also fills and hides slight spaces between teeth.
• Lengthen Short Teeth: Your teeth can shorten after years of biting and chewing, or may wear down prematurely if you grind your teeth. Adding composite resin lengthens your teeth and improves your smile. If your teeth have shortened due to grinding, you may benefit by wearing a custom-made nightguard while you sleep.
• Fill Teeth: When used as a filling material, composite resin strengthens teeth and offers a more natural appearance than silver amalgam fillings. Although anesthesia isn't necessary for most cosmetic treatments that use composite resin, you may require a local anesthetic when you receive a composite resin filling.

Upgrade your smile with cosmetic bonding. Call our Aiea, HI, dentist, Dr. Marana, at (808) 488-7868 to schedule your appointment.