Tooth bonding. / Uses for dental composite.
Dental-bonding technique has advanced substantially over the past few decades.
Whereas tooth bonding was first introduced as a dental restorative only intended for the creation of white fillings for front teeth, its uses now include a wide range of dental procedures. These stretch from simple tooth repair, to cosmetic dentistry, to procedures that provide a combination both of these functions.
Our pages will introduce you to all of these ways in which dental composite (the dental restorative used with tooth bonding technique) is put to use.
This includes cosmetic tooth bonding procedures (including dental composite veneers and closing tooth gaps) and using dental bonding to create white fillings for back teeth (dental composite fillings).
Our pages also explain the science of tooth bonding technique as well as describing many of its advantages and disadvantages. This includes when having tooth bonding placed might be a good or bad choice and expectations regarding how long bonded restorations can last.
What is tooth bonding (dental bonding)?
Generally speaking the term "tooth bonding" refers to a range of dental procedures each of which is similar in the sense that it employs the use of a type of dental restorative dentists call "dental composite."
As a material dental, composite has a number of characteristics that a dentist can exploit when it is put to use. One of them is the way it creates a strong bond with calcified tooth tissues (meaning tooth dentin and enamel). Another important one is its color. Dental composite comes in a variety of tooth-colored shades so when it is placed it can closely mimic the appearance of natural tooth structure.
For more information about dental bonding materials and the technique used to place them, use the following links.
• What are the steps a dentist performs when placing dental bonding? - These pages outline and illustrate the protocol a dentist follows when placing a bonded dental restoration.
• What is the science associated with the bonding process? - This section addresses issues such as: What is acid etch technique? How does it work?
• What's the composition of dental bonding? - Dental composite is a plastic. This page explains what other compounds are added and why.
Ways dentists use bonding technique and materials.
Tooth bonding can be used for a variety of purposes ranging from dental procedures that just address cosmetic concerns, to those that replace lost tooth structure (such as that lost due to tooth decay or fracture), to those procedures that provide a combination of both of these functions. Here is a listing of some of the different ways a dentist might put dental bonding to use:
A) Cosmetic tooth bonding - Dental bonding can be used to create cosmetic enhancements for teeth.
Related content: Cosmetic applications for dental bonding materials.
1) Closing a dental gap (diastema).
Tooth bonding can be used to fill in gaps that lie between a person's teeth (dentists call this type of gap a "diastema").
When this technique is used, dental composite is bonded onto the sides of the two teeth that lie on either side of the gap, so to widen each tooth slightly. The net effect is that the space between the two teeth is narrowed, or even filled in completely.
2) Dental Veneers
Dentists can place a veneering of dental bonding over the front side of teeth that have become stained or discolored as a way of enhancing their cosmetic appearance.
3) Correcting minor cosmetic imperfections.
Minor to moderate cosmetic imperfections of chipped, disfigured, or misaligned teeth can be masked or corrected by placing dental bonding.
B) Dental composite fillings - Tooth bonding can be used to create white fillings (composite fillings) for teeth.
1) Dental composite fillings for front teeth.
Dental composite (the restorative that is used with tooth bonding technique) has been the material of choice for creating tooth-colored fillings for front teeth for many decades (since the 1960's).
Because dental composite comes in a wide range of different shades of white, it will typically mimic the color of the tooth on which it is placed very closely.
2) White fillings for back teeth.
In some instances, but certainly not all, dental composite can be an appropriate restorative for fillings placed in back teeth.
Patients often like this option because the white color of composite fillings is much less noticeable than the silver coloration of dental amalgam fillings.
