Dental Bonding

Bonding is essentially dental plastic. It is applied to the surface of your tooth, hardened with a curing light, and then polished smooth. If you keep in mind that bonding is made of plastic, it gives you a better perspective on how long you can expect it to last, and how to take care of it. 

If you want a little more detail, bonding is considered a composite resin. The “composite” part of composite resin is a mixture of a resin matrix, microscopic glass beads and a binding agent to hold it all together. 

There are some who really want to get into the weeds on this one. Dr. O’Donnell considers himself a “nerd” when it comes to this subject, so this is for his fellow nerds:

Dental composites for the last 50 years have mainly used methacrylate based resins like bis-GMA, UDMA or TEGMA. The chemistry of these resins starts to get pretty complex, but these resins fill in the spaces between inorganic fillers like glass (silica) or ceramic that impart strength to the filling. The microscopic size of the fillers determines how easily the filling will polish and how strong it will be. The filler and resin are bound together using silane as a binding agent. There are other ingredients that make up dental composites including polymerization initiators to harden the resin, stabilizers to maintain its shelf life and pigments to perfectly match the tooth color. If you would like to go even deeper down the rabbit hole of dental composites, we suggest you read a few articles from the 3M Dental’s blog: https://dentalblog.3m.com/dental/whats-in-your-composite-monomers-unmasked/

https://dentalblog.3m.com/dental/whats-in-your-composite/

Bonding can last anywhere from 3 to 20 years, depending on several factors. It matters why the tooth (or teeth) were damaged, how large the repair is, and if it is well taken care of. There can also be a big difference between dental bonding staying on and looking good. On average, patients will be happy with bonding for 5 to 7 years. Over time bonding usually discolors and stains, which is one of the biggest downsides of bonding.

Yes! Dr. O’Donnell will select the appropriate shade to blend with the color of your teeth. If you want to have your smile be brighter, you should whiten your teeth before bonding is done. Over time bonding can collect stains on the surface and around the edges, which can sometimes be polished off, but because it is a plastic, the material itself can also yellow or darken. Dark colored beverages like coffee and red wine will cause bonding to stain more rapidly.

No, unfortunately. It is important to know that once bonding is placed it cannot be whitened. This means that if you whiten your other teeth, the bonding will likely stand out. The only way to change the color of bonding is to have it redone. If you want to whiten your surrounding teeth without replacing bonding, it is best to use an over the counter or take home product that works more slowly so you can stop if you notice the teeth and bonding are not blending anymore.

Anything that can break natural teeth can definitely break bonding since it is not as strong as enamel. (Fun fact – enamel is the hardest substance in your body!) If your teeth were chipped from nail biting or grinding and you don’t address these habits, your bonding will likely chip too. Bonding to close gaps between front teeth is less likely to break than bonding along the edges of your teeth.

Besides habits like nail biting or chewing on ice and pens, the most common causes for broken bonding are grinding at night and malocclusion. Malocclusion is when your bite is not ideal. If your teeth don’t come together properly, your bonding will be much more susceptible to breaking.

It is relatively rare for bonding to fall off entirely. Unless there was a very large portion of your tooth that needed to be replaced after an accident, bonding is much more likely to chip than to fall off. If a very large portion of the tooth is missing and bonding falls off, a veneer or crown is likely needed to repair the tooth properly.

Unless you have a cavity that needs to be removed, your dentist will probably not have to do much drilling before placing the bonding. To help the bonding adhere to your tooth your dentist will roughen the outer surface usually with a bur and with an etching material.

Usually, yes! Dental bonding can be removed by Dr. O’Donnell, assuming the tooth structure underneath is still intact. Its reversibility is one of the main advantages to bonding. Do not try to remove bonding at home as you will likely not only chip the bonding, but accidentally chip your tooth.

Bonding does not work like glue to seal a crack in a tooth. If a crack can be excavated entirely without structurally weakening the tooth, the resulting hole can sometimes be filled in with bonding. These situations are fairly rare. Usually a crack will require more involved treatments like crowns. Bonding can sometimes be used to cover over a stained crack on a front tooth, but it will not repair the damage underneath.

If you are considering bonding, call to schedule a consultation with us so we can give you an exact estimate. The cost of dental bonding varies widely. If you are fixing a small chip on a single tooth, it can be as little as about $200. If there are multiple teeth involved that need larger repairs, it could be up to $500-600 per tooth. Dental insurance may help with the cost of bonding. Under many plans it is considered to be a “filling”, and plans may cover 50-80% of the cost.

Bonding should actually be replaced as infrequently as possible because the adherence to the natural tooth structure is a little weaker each time it is done. This doesn’t mean you can’t replace old, discolored bonding, but don’t assume you can just get bonding redone every few years. Patients will often upgrade to porcelain veneers or crowns when they are unhappy with how their bonding looks.

Veneers or Crowns: Porcelain veneers or crowns are a more expensive, but much more durable alternative to bonding. Veneers and crowns usually last at least twice as long as bonding, and won’t stain. Although you can still get staining around the edges of veneers and crowns, this can typically be avoided by keeping your teeth clean. However, natural tooth structure has to be removed for veneers and crowns, so it is not reversible.

Orthodontics (Braces): If you are considering having bonding done to close gaps in your teeth, orthodontics (traditional wires and brackets OR clear aligners) to move the teeth may also be an option. Additionally, if your teeth are continuing to chip because your bite is not ideal, addressing the cause of the problem is a better long term solution than constantly trying to repair the damage.

Enameloplasty: If you have slight chipping along the edges of your teeth, you might be able to have them smoothed to remove the irregularities and improve the esthetics. However, once enamel is removed you can’t put it back on, You also don’t want to make your front teeth too short or square. In general, it is better to add back what is missing than it is to grind down your teeth.

Treat your bonding like it is made of plastic, because it is! This means don’t bite into anything with your front teeth that you couldn’t cut with a plastic knife, like apples or ribs. Avoid using your teeth to open packages, and avoid biting your nails. Wearing a night guard to protect your bonding can also greatly improve the lifespan.

To keep your bonding from staining, minimize consumption of dark beverages like tea, coffee, and red wine, or consider drinking them with a straw so the liquid isn’t hitting the front of your teeth. It is also important to brush and floss thoroughly to keep teeth and bonding clean.

DO:

• Maintain good oral hygiene habits (brushing and flossing)
• Wear a night guard
• Limit staining beverages like soda, coffee, tea, and red wine
• Drink through a straw
• Get regular cleanings with your hygienist

DON’T:

• Chew nails, pens, or ice
• Bite or tear into hard foods
• Panic if it breaks – we can fix it!