How Composite Bonding Can Give Back Your Great Smile

The restoration of damaged teeth is only a dental visit away, with composite bonding.

Getting the perfect smile need not involve invasive procedures such as having crowns or veneers, where parts of your teeth are removed to make space for them, when you can have the minimally invasive and more affordable option of composite bonding. It’s an ideal solution for people with chipped or broken teeth, or perhaps some that are badly stained, quickly restoring them to the way they used to be.

With composite bonding now widely available at many dental clinics around Ireland as part of their cosmetic dentistry services, including our three, it’s no longer necessary to go around with damaged, discoloured or disfigured teeth. Plus, it can be used to fill in gapped teeth, especially those at the front of the mouth that can make some people conscious of their appearance — a little composite bonding and the gap disappears and you have great-looking teeth.

It’s likely, though, that most people are not familiar with composite bonding and what it does — the name is not, after all, all that clear. So let’s take a look at what composite bonding is, how it works and if it could be a remedy to your tooth problems or concerns.

What Is Composite Bonding?

Essentially, composite bonding involves using a type of material, composite resin, which is placed onto a tooth to fill spaces due to chips or gaps and makes it look straight and aligned with other teeth. It’s a relatively fast cosmetic dentistry procedure and all it takes is one visit. As an effective solution to dental problems, composite bonding has actually been around for quite a long time, first appearing more than 50 years ago. We’ve come a long way with dental techniques since then, and these days, using composite bonding is routine and incredibly safe.

Having composite bonding usually involves the dentist removing part of the enamel on the surface of a tooth and then working out the best way to shape the composite resin to the tooth to restore it and get the best aesthetic effect. A bonding agent is then placed on the area, and the composite resin is added and allowed to cure with the aid of a dental curing light. Afterwards, the dentist will polish the tooth so that it looks its best, and possibly the surrounding teeth too.

As you can imagine with such a detailed procedure, a high level of skill and experience is required when doing composite bonding on a tooth. This is why it’s important that your dental clinic has long experience in the area and that its dentists are able to carry out the procedure to the highest of standards — if in doubt or you just don’t know, just ask your clinic or seek online for reviews from former patients who have had composite bonding done.

Is Composite Bonding Right for You?

Although cosmetic bonding is suitable for fixing teeth in a great many cases, it’s not always the best answer, and sometimes may not be possible at all. It’s especially the case where patients have an overbite and also an underbite — where the upper and lower teeth overlap each other, and it can either be moderate, covering some of the teeth, or severe, when nearly all of the upper or lower teeth are hidden. In such situations, and with crooked smiles, composite bonding is not going to achieve much in anything in terms of correcting the problem.

Mostly, composite bonding is for patients who have generally healthy teeth and are not suffering from any particular dental problems. It’s a cosmetic dentistry solution to minor aesthetic issues, and if that’s you, you may well be a candidate for composite bonding to resolve your issue.

If you do have it done, you can look forward to lasting results, and no special aftercare is really needed — apart from a good oral hygiene routine.

Got chips, cracks or gaps in your teeth and wondering how to restore them to their former glory? The James Clinic has lots of experience in cosmetic dentistry, including composite bonding, and our highly skilled dentists are ready to help you now. Contact us today to find out more.