Dental bonding refers to various techniques used to repair and restore a tooth or many teeth using some tooth-colored filling material. The material used is composite resin or simply resin that bonds or adheres to the surface of a natural tooth to enhance its color, size, and shape and improve other imperfections such as chips, gaps, cracks, etc. There are different procedures, such as porcelain veneers which can do the same, but dental bonding differs in the fact that it is reversible.

Composite soldering does not need to remove a large portion of your tooth’s structure. Just a little surface roughening or reshaping of the enamel can make it possible to bond the resin material.

Let us look into the details of how dental bonding works and whether you need to whiten your dentition before this procedure.

Dental Bonding Explained

Composite tooth restorations belong to a branch of dentistry called cosmetic dentistry which aid in enhancing your smile. In order to change the shape, size, and color of your dentitions as desired, your dentist would use a tooth-colored resin material to your impacted tooth’s surface. The whole procedure would take around thirty to sixty minutes.

• Dental bonding works to correct the following issues:
  • Misshapen dentitions.
  • Chips and cracks.
  • Uneven pearly whites.
  • Discoloration or stains on dentitions.
  • Gaps between your pearly whites.
• If your teeth have severe decay or suffer from gum disease and other serious oral problems, then you would need to treat them first before getting the resin soldered on your teeth.
• Before diving into the treatment, your dentist would have a talk with you about what your goals are from the treatment.
• The dentist would examine your pearly whites and gums and take X-rays to ensure you are eligible for the procedure.
• Using a shade guide, your dentist would first choose a color that blends well with your natural pearly whites.
• S/he would then roughen the surface of your tooth and apply conditioning liquid so that the material sticks to your dentition.
• The resin material has a putty-like consistency and is now applied to your tooth at this stage. Your dentist would mold and smoothen the resin to give it the desired shape.
• Next, the doctor would use a special curing light to harden and fix the resin on your tooth.
• The last step involves making any necessary adjustments and polishing your teeth to impart a natural shine to them.

What is Teeth Whitening?

You can whiten your teeth either in-office or at home using whitening strips.

• In-office, a dental hygienist or a dentist would perform this procedure which takes about an hour. In-office treatment can whiten your teeth up to five to ten shades lighter.
• At-home whitening kits come as custom-made trays that fit over your teeth. You can buy these OTC trays or get them from your dentist. The tray contains whitening gel, and you need to wear them for thirty minutes to one hour per day. You might need two weeks of applying these products at home to see results, and they can lighten the teeth’ color up to two to three shades.
• Teeth whitening products have bleaching agents (usually hydrogen peroxide or carbamide peroxide) that can remove stains and discolorations from your pearly whites.
• The bleaching agents at the dentist’s office are much stronger and work faster than the at-home kits.

Should I Whiten My Dentitions Before Dental Bonding?

When your dentist is deciding on the bonding material and shade, he will try to match it with the natural color of your teeth. So, if you are planning to whiten your teeth, you should do it before the composite is adhered to your tooth.

• If you have stains on your teeth, the resin chosen would be a match to the stained dentitions, and you would be left with stained teeth.
• If you whiten your pearly whites before the procedure, you will get rid of the stains on your dentition and brighten them. So, your final result after the bonding would be whiter teeth overall.
• If you think you can whiten your teeth after the bonding, then you would be disappointed with the result as the bonded teeth would stand out from your natural teeth. This is because the whitening gel does not work on composite.

If you want to give your smile a complete makeover, it is a good idea to whiten your teeth before you go for dental bonding. Talk to your dentist as s/he can suggest to you the best course of action.