What steps are involved when a dentist creates a bonded dental restoration for a tooth?    (continued)

In most cases, as the dentist places the tooth bonding they will purposely over bulk the restoration they are creating. They will then use their dental drill to trim away the excess dental composite with polishing disks, stones, and burrs.

Certainly the dental bonding must be trimmed and shaped so it looks right to the eye. But the dentist must also make sure that the bonding makes proper contact with neighboring teeth and that the edges of the tooth bonding where it butts up against the tooth are smooth.

The finish given to the surface of the dental bonding is just as important as its overall shape. As the dentist sculpts the restoration they will use successively finer and finer grit polishing stones, burs, discs, and strips until a very fine polish has been achieved with the bonding's surface.

K) The dentist will check the patient's "bite."

At this point even though the placement of the tooth bonding has been completed, it is still very important for the dentist to check the patient's "bite." The dentist will need to evaluate how the patient's teeth come together and then whether or not the tooth bonding they have just placed interferes with this activity.

The dentist will first need to remove any tooth isolation materials (cotton rolls, rubber dam) that have been placed. They will then place a thin strip of carbon paper between the patient's teeth and ask them to close gently and then make a motion where they slide their teeth against each other. The carbon paper will make marks on those points where the patient's opposing teeth come into contact during this activity. If carbon paper marks are observed on the new dental bonding the dentist will adjust the bonding's thickness until further testing with the carbon paper demonstrates that the bonding is not over bulked.

L) The dentist will complete the final polishing of the dental bonding.

Once the tooth bonding has been adjusted so it is in harmony with the patient's bite the dentist may feel that the bonding needs some final buffing and polishing. Once this has been completed, the new bonded restoration is finished and ready for use.

Are there any precautions you should take with your new dental bonding?

When a dentist places a dental amalgam filling they will usually ask the patient to avoid chewing on the filling for the next several hours. This gives the dental amalgam a chance to harden. In comparison, one of the great conveniences of tooth bonding is that it is fully cured by the dentist during the process when it is placed.

This means that after your dental appointment has come to an end that your new bonded tooth is ready to use. Now in many cases your tooth may have been numbed and if this is the case you will need to be careful with your jaw movements and activities until the effects of the anesthetic have worn off. But as far as the strength of the tooth bonding itself, the restoration is ready to be used, enjoyed and admired.