If your teeth are chipped or cracked or just aesthetically unappealing, there is a simple and inexpensive option for you. This option is known as “bonding”. Bonding means that dental material and natural teeth are linked together. Bonding is a painless and non invasive procedure and is accomplished in just on visit to the dentist. There are no molds, there are no temporary pieces to be replaced later; just one visit and you have beautiful teeth.
There are a couple types of bonding methods. One type is simply used to link one surface to another. In this case, the bonding resin is used as a bridge between another type of filling and a natural tooth. The most commonly used type of bonding is direct bonding. In this type of bonding, the dentist applies the bonding resin directly to the natural tooth, using it to cover any flaws. Direct bonding is the type of bonding that is used for cracked and chipped teeth.
The bonding process is simple. First, the tooth that will be bonded is isolated. This isolation makes sure that no moisture will interfere with the bonding process. The isolated tooth than undergoes an acid etching process, which makes the tooth harder. This is accomplished by applying phosphoric acid to the tooth for fifteen seconds. After fifteen seconds, the acid is removed and the bonding resin is applied. The Houston Cosmetic dentist molds and shapes the resin around the tooth, and uses a special light ot help harden it. The application and shaping of the resin is repeated several times until just the right shape has been acquired.
Dental bonding is a good choice for people who have cracked or chipped teeth. It is painless and non invasive. Very rarely do side effects occur, but when they do a dentist can counter them simply. Dental bonding is inexpensive and it easily solves normal problems like chipping and cracking.
Teeth are not naturally stain resistant. They are often discolored because they are porous. Teeth get discolored due to many different things, such as: drinking coffee or drinking dark colored beverages, smoking cigarettes, age, grinding, or trauma. Teeth can be whitened, however. A dentist can whiten teeth, or an in home whitening treatment can be purchased at any grocery or drug store. Going to the dentist is a much faster way of whitening your teeth, but buying a kit at the drug store is much cheaper.
Going to the Houston Cosmetic dentist to get your teeth whitened only takes one 45 minute session. During your session, you and your dentist will consult a tooth shade chart to figure out your current tooth shade and your goal tooth shade. A protective guard is then placed in your mouth to cover your lips and gums and protect them from the whitening gel. The gel is the applied to your teeth. A special light is used on the gel to speed up the whitening process. Sometimes the dentist will apply the gel up to three separate times in one visit in order to achieve the goal shade. The gel will stay on your teeth for up to twenty minutes or so. Getting your teeth whitened by the dentist provides the most spectacular results in the shortest amount of time – but it is rather expensive.
Purchasing an in home treatment is the more economical approach to teeth whitening. However, it takes much longer to see results then going to the dentist. Gel is applied to teeth once a day, sometimes twice, for 30 minutes to an hour at a time. This is repeated up for up to ten days. Though it is not as quick as going to your dentist, it is far less costly, and many people find that the results are just as good as if they had gone to the dentist.
It really is just a matter of preference. If you have more money than time and you do not want to bother with the work involved in an in home treatment, go to your dentist. If you are on a budget but still want white teeth, purchase an in home kit. Both ways are just fine.