What Is Composite Bonding? Your Questions Answered

We often meet patients that are unhappy with several different aspects of their teeth. When you’re faced with multiple dental issues, it’s easy to dislike your smile. In many cases, these negative feelings harm your confidence and make you feel embarrassed. 

You don’t have to give up smiling though. There are treatments that address all of your dental problems — and they might not be as expensive or complex as you might imagine. 

Composite bonding fixes several problems efficiently and effortlessly. The treatment is elegantly straightforward and achieves amazing results. But exactly what is composite bonding?

Here are the answers to some of the questions our often patients ask. 

What Is Composite Bonding?

Composite bonding is a simple and minimally invasive way to reshape your teeth. It’s used to address a whole host of dental problems and improve the appearance of your smile. 

Some clinics may call the procedure dental, tooth, or cosmetic bonding. Regardless of the name, they’re all the same treatment. Composite bonding uses a tooth-coloured composite resin applied directly to your teeth.

Once you’ve had composite bonding, it’s very difficult for anyone to spot. The bonded areas of your teeth will blend seamlessly with the natural portions. 

What Can Composite Bonding Fix?

This versatile treatment can fix several issues — often simultaneously. We can repair chips and cracks, build up small or misshapen teeth, cover badly stained areas, and even close small gaps between teeth. 

We’ll assess your teeth before your treatment to ensure composite bonding is the best solution in your situation. 

What Are the Health Benefits of Composite Bonding?

Although often marketed as a cosmetic treatment, composite bonding does more than just improve aesthetics. There are also significant health benefits. 

Damage to your tooth creates an entry point for bacteria. Once inside your tooth, infections form. If this happens, you may need a root canal treatment to save the tooth, and in some cases, the tooth will die and require extraction. 

Composite resin closes these holes and stops harmful bacteria from penetrating. 

What Is the Difference Between Composite Bonding and Dental Veneers?

Dental veneers are a popular cosmetic procedure that dramatically enhances your smile. In many respects, veneers and composite bonding are similar because they can address many of the same issues; however, there are several fundamental differences. 

Veneers use fine porcelain shells placed over each tooth, creating a sort of false facade. Each veneer is carefully made for your teeth in a laboratory. Before application, we’d need to prepare each tooth by removing a small amount of enamel so that the veneer sits flush. 

With composite bonding, we don’t make anything for your teeth, and there’s no need to prepare enamel. The resin is applied directly to the tooth. This speeds the process up from weeks in the case of veneers to hours for composite bonding.

Composite bonding also costs less; however, veneers typically last longer and are more resistant to stains. 

What Happens During the Composite Bonding Procedure?

Before we start, we’ll identify the areas of concern. You might just want composite bonding on a single tooth, or you may want to treat several or your entire smile. Once we know what you’d like to change about your smile, we can start work. 

Composite bonding requires little preparation. After we’ve planned the procedure, we’ll roughen the tooth’s surface and apply a conditioning liquid. This helps the resin adhere to the tooth. 

Next, we’ll start crafting the perfect tooth. We’ll carefully sculpt and shape your teeth until we’re happy with the size, shape, texture, and colour. 

Once the resin is in place, we’ll use ultraviolet light to harden it before polishing any rough areas. 

How Long Does the Composite Bonding Procedure Take?

Your treatment length will vary depending on the number of teeth receiving composite bonding and the extent of the repair. In many cases, we can improve your smile dramatically within a couple of hours. We can usually achieve great results in a single appointment. 

Is Composite Bonding Painful?

No. Not at all. In fact, composite bonding rarely requires any form of anaesthetic. 

Because we don’t actually remove any part of your tooth, and there’s no need for drills or other similar tools involved, and you can expect a discomfort-free procedure. 

What Can I Expect When Recovering After Composite Bonding?

As there’s no pain or discomfort associated with the composite bonding process, you’ll experience a pain-free recovery. There’s no reason why you should cancel any plans after your procedure. 

We’d recommend sticking to softer food for the first 24 hours after treatment. This is while the resin fully hardens. After a day, you can resume your normal diet. 

How Long Will the Effects of Composite Bonding Last

It’s hard to say exactly how long composite bonding will last.  Much of this depends on how well you take care of your teeth. With care, you can expect the composite resin to stay in place for at least five years. 

How Can I Preserve My New Smile?

Much of how long composite bonding lasts depends on the effort you put in to preserve the results. Keep in mind that enamel is the hardest material found in the human body, and composite resin isn’t as tough. 

This means that you need to avoid biting anything solid. If you’re someone that bites pen lids, grinds their teeth, or likes to chew on ice, these are things that could damage the resin. 

Maintaining good standards of oral health is always important. Regular brushing, flossing, and rinsing with mouthwash can help. Regular checkups are important too. Seeing us every six months means we can monitor the condition of the bonded areas. You may also want to book the occasional professional clean with us too. 

Composite Bonding at Love Teeth

At Love Teeth, we’ve reshaped, sculpted, and refined many smiles using composite bonding. This simple but effective treatment really is a game-changer.   

Call us today to arrange your consultation at our clinic in Sutton, Stonecot, Chessington, Cheam, or Worcester Park.