What is Composite Bonding?
'Bonding' seems to be a bit of a buzz word right now. As knowledge and materials have advanced, we have many more options to cosmetically treat the teeth without trimming healthy teeth down. Composite bonding involves adding material to the surface of your teeth to improve their shape and size, as well as possibly camouflage misalignments. The material is called composite resin and it is a mixture of glass and resin. It comes in a vast range of shades and textures to ensure it blends in with your teeth so as not to be detected. The special property of this material is that it actually chemically bonds to your teeth if we apply certain adhesive chemicals to the surface of your teeth. This means that very often, your teeth do not need to be drilled to help grip the composite. Sometimes the Bonding is added just to the edges of the teeth. This is called edge bonding and is perfect for people with well aligned teeth with chipped or suboptimal edges which you would like to disguise. Sometimes the composite is applied on the whole front surface of your tooth. This is called a composite veneer and is a bit more extensive. This is sometimes required if you would like to change the general shape of your teeth, close gaps or disguise misaligned teeth.
What's the difference between composite and porcelain veneers?
Bonding can offer the perfect solution for people who want a smile make over without having to go through months of braces and without the premium prices of porcelain veneers. Composite bonding takes less appointments as they are made by hand directly in your mouth by the dentist- me!. Porcelain veneers require a few more appointments as the dentist is working with a laboratory to help design and make them. Composite veneers are often placed without any drilling to your natural teeth. In some cases where the teeth are misaligned and braces are not an option, some drilling may be required. In these cases I would advise braces before bonding to get the healthiest and best cosmetic results. Composite veneers are considerably less expensive compared with Porcelain veneers for a few reasons: They last on average between 3-5 years before they pick up surface stains and start to chip whereas porcelain may last 15+ years before they break. Additionally porcelain has a better cosmetic finish than composite. In some cases, composite veneers can serve as a long term transitional change to lay the blue print for your final veneers. During a consultation, we will have a lengthy discussion to find out which solution suits your needs.