Here’s How Cosmetic Bonding Can Transform Your Smile

The holiday season is quickly approaching, but you’re dreading it. Normally you’d love the opportunity to spend time with family and close friends, but this year you’re feeling less than happy about your smile. Your teeth are looking a little discolored and chipped. You don’t want your loved ones to see you like this, let alone take pictures of you that will last a lifetime. If only there were some way to correct those flaws in your teeth! Fortunately, there is – with cosmetic bonding. Let’s learn from a cosmetic dentist how bonding can transform your smile.

What Is Cosmetic Bonding?

Bonding involves your cosmetic dentist using a composite resin material, which is a mix of plastic and glass particles, to correct imperfections in your smile. This material is highly malleable, allowing your dentist to sculpt your teeth into the desired shape. It can also be custom shaded to match the color of your existing enamel, or even to correct discoloration or stubborn stains on the teeth.

First, your dentist will select the shade of the bonding material to blend in with the rest of your smile. Then, they will sculpt the material into the perfect shape. Once the color and shape are just right, the dentist will use a curing light to harden it into place, then polish it to make it look like a completely natural part of your grin.

What Are the Advantages of Bonding Over Veneers?

If you’re self-conscious about your smile, you might have heard about porcelain veneers before. They are thin sheaths of dental porcelain that are bonded to the front surfaces of the teeth to mask the same types of flaws that cosmetic bonding can fix. However, if you’re torn between the two of them, consider cosmetic bonding. It offers several benefits over porcelain veneers, such as:

• Cost: Bonding costs significantly less than veneers do. In addition, bonding is slightly more likely to be covered by your insurance, especially if it’s to structurally repair a tooth.
• Time: More often than not, bonding can be completed in just one appointment, while veneers take two or more.
• More conservative treatment: Porcelain veneers require that some of your enamel be removed to make room. Bonding rarely if ever removes a significant amount of natural tooth structure.

If you’re feeling like your smile leaves something to be desired, cosmetic bonding may be just what you need to get the grin you want this holiday season. Ask your cosmetic dentist today if bonding is right for you.

About the Author

Dr. Bita Kamali pursued a dental degree at Baylor College of Dentistry after falling in love with the profession while working as a dental hygienist. She keeps up with the latest technological advancements through continuing education courses so she can deliver the highest quality care possible to her patients. Her practice offers cosmetic bonding to transform your smile. If you are interested, click here to contact her office.