Dental bonding is a popular cosmetic procedure that utilizes a tooth-colored composite resin material to subtly enhance a person’s smile. This technique, often called composite bonding, involves applying the material directly to the tooth’s surface, where it is shaped, hardened, and polished. The process focuses on improving the appearance of teeth to achieve a more uniform and aesthetically pleasing result. Understanding what bonded teeth look like involves examining the corrections they provide and how their appearance is maintained over time.
The Visual Applications
Dental bonding works by adding material to the tooth structure, allowing a dentist to correct minor imperfections in shape and alignment. A common application is restoring small chips or fractures, where the resin rebuilds a smooth, unbroken edge that restores the tooth’s original contour. Bonding is also frequently used to close small spaces between teeth, known as diastemas, by widening the appearance of the adjacent teeth. The composite resin is molded to reduce or eliminate the visible gap, resulting in a more continuous arch. Finally, bonding can be applied to the biting edges of teeth that appear too short, visually lengthening them to create a balanced smile line.
Aesthetic Realism and Finish
The goal of cosmetic bonding is to make the restoration virtually indistinguishable from the surrounding natural teeth. Achieving this realism begins with precise color matching, where the dentist selects a composite resin shade using a specialized guide to blend with the tooth’s natural color. Modern resin materials are formulated to exhibit a “chameleon effect,” allowing them to absorb and reflect light in a way that mimics the subtle translucency of natural enamel. The application often involves layering different shades of composite to replicate the tooth’s internal structure. After the resin is sculpted and cured with a specialized light, the final step involves a meticulous polishing process to give the bonded area a subtle, high-gloss sheen similar to that of a healthy tooth surface.
Maintaining the Appearance
The look of dental bonding holds up well over time, but the composite resin material behaves differently than natural enamel, which impacts its long-term appearance.
Staining and Discoloration
Composite resin is more porous than tooth enamel, making it susceptible to extrinsic staining from highly pigmented food and drinks. Substances like coffee, red wine, tea, and tobacco can cause the bonded area to darken or yellow over time, making it stand out against the surrounding natural teeth. Unlike natural teeth, the resin material cannot be whitened with traditional bleaching treatments, so any discoloration is permanent unless the resin is replaced.
Durability and Maintenance
The material is not as durable as enamel, meaning it can chip or dull, particularly on the biting surfaces of the front teeth. To maintain the aesthetic finish, patients are advised to avoid habits like biting nails or chewing on hard objects. If the surface becomes dull, a dentist can perform re-polishing to restore the luster and smooth finish, but significant chips may require a touch-up or complete replacement of the bonded material.