In the past, if you needed to have a tooth filled then the process was to fill the tooth with amalgam, and imperfections were fixed through the use of ceramic crowns and veneers.
Cosmetic bonding is a non-invasive alternative, that uses the unique properties of the tooth-coloured material in order to create seamless composite resin fillings and minor cosmetic alterations.
Here is how it works.
What Is A Dental Composite?
A dental composite is term used to describe a number of dental cements that consist of a mix of resins and other materials in order to create a hard wearing, yet malleable material that hardens when activated usually by a particular type of blue light.
There are a range of composites that match the natural shades of teeth.
Your dentist will prepare the surface of your tooth by roughing it, before applying a bonding agent that will allow the resin to stick to your tooth.
The procedure takes less than an hour on average, depending on the extent of the procedure.
For a number of cosmetic treatment it will take far less time, as composite bonding is typically used to fix minor imperfections in teeth, such as filling gaps and reshaping teeth slightly.
Unlike other cosmetic treatments there is almost no downtime. Except for filling cavaties, which can sometimes require sedation, you can continue as normal after the treatment is completed.
Compared to amalgam fillings, they look far less conspicuous and can last a similar amount of time