If you have ever considered improving your smile, Desert Family Dental wants you to know that you have several options. Traditional options include veneers, crowns and orthodontics, but there is another option that allows us to correct a range cosmetic issues. It may be less well-known, but dental bonding is an incredibly versatile cosmetic treatment.

We offer all of these options here at Desert Family Dental in Mesa, Arizona and each can give you beautiful results. Call our dental office today at 480-485-7747 to make an appointment with Dr. Lee or Dr. Gibbons.

If you’ve ever had a cavity filled with tooth-colored composite resin, you know it’s a very strong and durable substance. Rather than filling a cavity, dental bonding uses that same composite resin to create a brand new surface to cover a part of your tooth. One of our experienced cosmetic dentists will sculpt, smooth, and polish the composite resin to fit seamlessly into your smile, leaving you with beautiful, natural looking teeth.

Dental bonding is one of our simplest and fastest cosmetic treatments. Before the process starts, we will clean the teeth to be bonded, and use a dental etching tool to slightly roughen the surface of your enamel. This ensures the composite resin will bond well to the tooth. Next Dr. Lee or Dr. Gibbons will apply the composite resin, which will have the consistency of modeling clay. Using special tools and creative techniques, we will sculpt the material until the desired appearance is achieved. At that point, a special light is used to harden the composite, just like when you get a filling. As a final step, we will shape, smooth, and polish the bonded tooth until it looks perfect in your smile.

Dental bonding is, by far, the most affordable cosmetic treatment. Unlike traditional veneers and crowns, there is no need for a dental laboratory to fabricate anything off-site; bonding is a direct procedure, performed by the dentist while you sit in the chair. This makes it a fast and immediately gratifying treatment.

Another important advantage is there is usually no need to remove any of your tooth’s structure, which many patients find appealing. Furthermore, since only the enamel is affected, there’s no need for needles or anesthetics with dental bonding.

The only drawback of dental bonding is that it does not offer the same durability and longevity as porcelain veneers. Your results will last for up to 10 years, but composite resin is more prone to staining than dental porcelain, depending on personal oral care and diet. It is also more likely to chip, break, or become dislodged. This does not mean these things will happen to your bonded teeth—only that it happens more frequently with bonding than with veneers.