Teeth Bonding

Many people want their teeth to look their best, and that often requires a little help from the dentist. Albuquerque residents don’t have to walk around town with discoloration, cracks, chips, and other problems.

In fact, Ivory Dental can help you with various cosmetic procedures. If you’re unsure what you need, that’s okay. You can come for a consultation and discuss your needs and preferences with us.

However, teeth bonding is a great choice for many people. This procedure features a tooth-colored material. With that, the plastic resin used is strong and durable. We can easily apply it to your tooth, hardening it with a special beam of light. That way, this resin is bonded to your tooth to restore or improve your smile.

It’s so easy, and teeth bonding has helped hundreds of patients at Ivory Dental. Now, you can see if it’s right for you. Continue reading to learn about the benefits and procedure. When you’re ready, please call for a consultation. We can transform your smile!

The Procedure of Teeth Bonding

In most cases, we can complete the teeth bonding procedure in one visit. We don’t have to do much in the way of advanced preparation. Typically, we don’t use anesthesia, but we offer numbing agents for patients with sensitive teeth and gums.

However, there is an exception. If you’re using the tooth bonding procedure to fill in decayed teeth instead of amalgam fillings, we do use anesthesia. Also, we might use it if we’re fixing a chip close to the nerves or have to change the shape of your tooth.

We use a shade guide to ensure that we match your natural teeth perfectly. During the process, the dentist must roughen the tooth surface and uses some conditioning liquid. This ensures that the material sticks to the tooth.

Then, we use a putty-like resin that matches the color of your tooth, mold it appropriately, and smooth it out so that it obtains the right shape.

Once everything is right, we harden the resin material with a blue light or laser. When it’s hard, we can trim and shape it to look like a natural tooth.

Why We Perform Teeth Bonding?

Teeth bonding is an excellent procedure, and many patients use it to:

• Protect tooth roots from receding gums
• Cosmetically fill cavities instead of amalgam
• Change a tooth’s shape
• Ensure that the teeth look longer
• Close gaps or spaces between the teeth
• Repair chipped and cracked teeth
• Improve the appearance of discolored teeth
• Repair decay (use the composite resin to fill up the cavity)

There are various reasons to use tooth bonding. You can request this procedure for your problem teeth today, and we can make sure that it’s the best cosmetic treatment for you.

The Reasons to Consider Teeth Bonding (Advantages and Disadvantages)

It’s important to learn as much as you can about the tooth bonding benefits. However, as with any cosmetic procedure, there could be some drawbacks. Therefore, it’s essential to understand both sides of the issue before you decide if tooth bonding is appropriate for your smile and needs.

The benefits of tooth bonding can include:

• Easy to perform
• Less expensive compared to other cosmetic procedures
• Can be done right at our office
• No anesthesia necessary (for the most part)
• Doesn’t remove as much tooth enamel as other treatments
• No need to send a mold to the lab to create it

As you can see, tooth bonding is a great choice for many people, especially if you don’t want to wait for a lab to create your cosmetic item. However, you should be aware of the disadvantages to make the right choice. These include:

• Application limitations
• Can break or chip away from the tooth
• Doesn’t last as long as other cosmetic procedures
• Can’t resist stains like a crown

Caring for Your Bonded Teeth

The bonding materials we use can be easily chipped or broken. Therefore, you must be careful after the procedure is done. This means you can’t chew hard objects, bite your fingernails, or open things up with your teeth. These are bad habits that should be broken, anyway.

Sometimes, you might run your tongue over that bonded tooth and feel a sharpness. This is a normal situation. However, if it happens, you should come back to our office for a follow-up visit. We can easily fix the problem. That way, you’re not hurting yourself or cutting your tongue.

Other than those minor issues, bonded teeth don’t necessarily require special care. Follow your regular oral hygiene routine, which should include:

• Flossing once a day
• Brushing twice a day or as recommended
• Using antiseptic mouthwash once a day
• Visiting Ivory Dental for routine checkups and cleanings

Lifespan for Bonded Teeth

Bonding materials can last a long or short period of time, and this is primarily based on your habits and how much bonding was done.

Remember, your bonded teeth don’t have the same strength as your natural teeth. Various habits might shorten their lifespan. For instance, if you bite down on foods hard, you might dislodge the bonding material from your tooth or break it.

If you smoke or drink dark beverages often, the bonding material might stain quickly. You should replace that to continue having a beautiful smile. It’s not possible to whiten bonded teeth.

Generally, bonding materials last up to 10 years, but most people have them replaced in about three years. We can sometimes touch them up, too.

Cost

Tooth bonding doesn’t cost as much as other cosmetic procedures. However, you often pay out of pocket because dental insurance may not cover it. Even if you plan to get restorative treatment and use tooth bonding, such as for your filling material, most insurance companies don’t cover this option.

Please check with your insurance company or read your policy to find out about your options. However, be aware that the costs are sure to be out of pocket. Still, most insurance plans don’t cover cosmetic procedures. The price you pay is sure to be less with teeth bonding.

If you’re worried about the cost or the ability to pay for it, we do offer payment plans. That can help you get the smile you want now and cover the cost over time.

Ready to Change Your Smile? - Let Ivory Dental Help

There are so many ways that you can beautify your smile. We offer many of these treatments, and teeth bonding is one of them. This is an excellent option for most people, but it can’t fix everything.

If you feel that teeth bonding is the right solution for your smile, please call us. We can have you come into the office for a consultation and find out if it’s a good choice.

Albuquerque residents can appreciate that we offer many services at Ivory Dental. Whether you require a composite filling or want to hide some discoloration, tooth bonding might be the best choice.

We make sure it’s easy to find out. During your consultation, we check the teeth and determine the best course of action. Please call today to request an appointment.