Cosmetic Dentist Las Vegas | Dr. Tony Tomaro

Dental Bonding

If you have some minor imperfections in your teeth that keep you from smiling, tooth bonding can be an easy and affordable option.

Although teeth bonding can refer to adhering porcelain restorations to your natural tooth (ex. porcelain inlays or veneers), dental bonding is also a dental treatment where a composite resin is applied to the surface of your tooth to cosmetically improve it. Dental bonding can be used to treat both the front and back teeth and comes in many shades so it can precisely match your natural tooth color. Dental bonding can also be done on multiple tooth structures, depending on the nature of the repair and your dentist's recommendation.

How Dental Bonding Works
Once the surface is prepared, the tooth-colored, putty-like composite material is applied, molded and shaped. Then, a special light or laser cures/hardens the material. After it hardens, your dentist may further trim and shape the material, then polish it to match the rest of the tooth surface.

Tooth Bonding: An Artistic Solution To Repair Various Problems
The process of tooth bonding can be compared to the process an artist uses in sculpting clay. Through the molding and shaping of dental composite resin, our dentists can fix a number of imperfections that stand between you and the perfect smile:

• Restore a chipped tooth
• Restore broken tooth
• Fill a gap between teeth
• Recolor your teeth
• Reshape your teeth
• Give a straighter appearance to crooked teeth
• Restore decaying teeth

Differences Between Dental Bonding and Porcelain Restorations
Teeth bonding is an effective and affordable treatment for minor repairs, but does not offer the same level of durability or support to surrounding tooth structure like porcelain restorations. For cases where the problem area is larger, needs to withstand more stress, or requires more exact shaping or shading, porcelain restorations are a better and longer-term solution.

Questions About Tooth Bonding

What is tooth bonding?
Tooth bonding is a procedure that uses a material that is color matched to your teeth to restore your smile. Tooth bonding is also referred to as dental bonding and is the name of the material used during the procedure and the procedure itself.

Dental bonding is used to adhere porcelain restorations to your teeth as well as being used to restore cracks and chips on your teeth. Dental bonding can be used with porcelain veneers and porcelain inlays and onlays.

What does tooth bonding do for my teeth?
Tooth bonding fixes several dental problems including:

• Minor chips
• Broken teeth
• Chipped teeth
• Decaying teeth
• Cracks in teeth
• Discolored teeth
• Misshaped teeth
• Gaps between teeth

Will my tooth bonding be visible?
Your teeth bonding will not be visible at all. The material used is color matched to the shade of your natural teeth. This ensures that the tooth bonding blends flawlessly with your smile. Tooth bonding is meant to enhance your smile while treating dental problems. It is not meant to advertise that you have had any dental work done.

What is the difference between tooth bonding and porcelain veneers?
Teeth bonding and porcelain veneers serve relatively the same purpose. They both fix the same dental problems in a discreet fashion. There are a few important differences between the two.

Tooth bonding uses a paste that is directly applied to the damaged tooth and is hardened with the use a special light. Bonding does not require the support of your entire tooth, but needs more maintenance because it is not stain-resistant like porcelain. Tooth bonding can be used on the front, top, and back of the teeth for restoration.

Porcelain veneers are thin shells of porcelain created separately and bonded directly to each tooth. These shells cover the entire tooth and are resistant to staining. They use the dental paste used in tooth bonding to adhere to the teeth. Porcelain veneers are used to restore the front of the teeth.

If you think tooth bonding can help improve your smile, contact us to schedule your personal teeth bonding consultation at Arthur Tomaro Exceptional Dentistry.  We can accurately assess your needs and mouth function to determine if dental bonding is right for you. Proudly serving patients in Las Vegas, Nevada.