Do you have chipped or broken front teeth? Don’t like the idea of removing and tooth structure in order to place porcelain veneers or crowns? Then cosmetic composite restorations may be perfect for you! Often patients present to my office wanting to touch a couple teeth. Maybe the smile is generally very attractive, but there is just one tooth that has a gap - or a chip that needs to be fixed in order to restore harmony to the smile. I love composite bonding for cases like this - cases where most of the tooth we want to restore is in good shape but and a veneer would too aggressive. Composite bonding involves using a tooth colored resin that is “bonded” to the treated tooth to restore the chipped area or gap. The goal is to create a seamless transition between resin and natural tooth structure that is indistinguishable to the naked eye.
Often this procedure can be completed in a single visit and accomplished without the need for local anesthetic…a “shot”. For a front tooth composite restoration to work well, we need a decent amount of solid enamel, and bite that doesn’t put too much force on the ends of the front teeth. The tooth is “prepared” and then “etched” to provide the substructure for the composite resin to “bond” to…We have multiple shades and translucencies of composite material that we may use on a single restoration. The reason? So that we can perfectly mimic the aesthetics of the actual tooth!
Above is an example of a case we recently completed at Ivory. The patient had old fillings on her front "central incisors” that were chipped and broken down. Her other teeth were beautiful! She noticed that she was unhappy with her smile and her eye was drawn to the chips in the front teeth. I discussed with the patient that the front two teeth are the center point of a smile. Any assymetry or disharmony will stand out on these two teeth. We decided to complete cosmetic bonding on the front two teeth. After the appointment she couldn’t stop smiling! I love dentistry like this - dentistry that helps patients smile confidently!
If you want to learn more about how cosmetic dentistry can help you smile bigger and brighter than ever before - check out our cosmetic dentistry page and set up a consultation! I’d love to help you learn more.
~ Dr B