Dental Bonding in Muskegon, MI
What is Dental Bonding?
Utilizing a tooth-colored composite resin material is a great way to brighten up your smile in a single visit. Being more conservative and less expensive than other options, this procedure is excellent for repairing smaller chips, recontouring a tooth, fixing a rotated tooth, closing a small gap, or repairing a small area of discoloration or decay.
Dental bonding does have some limitations, however. If it is used in areas of higher stress, such as on the chewing surfaces, or the tips of a cusp that hits an opposing cusp when chewing laterally, composite resin is not as sturdy as crowns, porcelain veneers,or onlays. On the anterior teeth (in the front) sometimes, if a corner of a tooth is broken, then a porcelain veneer could be a longer lasting more esthetic option.
When the material first came out, it was used to do quick repairs mostly on the front teeth. The results were so esthetic many dentists used it to do instant “Smile Makeovers”. What we found that within five to seven years, many of these composite bondings were starting to stain or chip and required replacing.
What are the Advantages of Dental Bonding?
Again, some of the advantages of doing dental bonding, is that if a patient walks in with a chipped or discolored front tooth, they can walk out that same day with a restoration that will look and feel very natural within one simple visit. In addition, in some cases, we can even do it without anesthetic, since its more of an additive procedure.
Because of the soft malleable property of the composite resin and the fact you can easily put various “tints” into the material to give it “maverick hints” of red, yellow, blue, or white streaks or coloration, we are able to instantly match it to your natural color with excellent precision. Once it is shaped and the color looks perfect, Dr. Donley will “cure” the material to harden it using a specialized light. This resin material can then be contoured and polished to match the adjacent tooth.
If you have a chipped or discolored tooth, contact our office and Dr. James R. Donley of Lumbertown Dental Wellness in North Muskegon, Michigan, can evaluate your specific needs to make sure that you are taken care of properly. In the right situations, these procedures are excellent alternatives to a less conservative crown or other type of restoration.
