When you’re having fun and people catch a glimpse of your teeth as you smile or laugh, it would be unfortunate if chips or cracks in those teeth distracted onlookers. After all, no-one wants to draw attention for the wrong reasons, but this is a situation where tooth bonding can help.

“Tooth bonding” is a term for treatments where composite resin is used to cover unsightly parts of the tooth. Here’s what to know about these treatments before you consider them.

What a tooth bonding treatment involves

Once you’re ready to receive this treatment from a dentist, they will use a shade guide to determine a composite resin color closely matching your natural tooth’s color, as Healthline explains.

The dentist might then remove some surface enamel, though this may not be strictly necessary in all cases, as revealed in a Marie Claire article. The dentist will then apply a bonding agent, followed by the composite resin, which will then be cured with a special light before a final polish of your tooth.

Whether tooth bonding is right for you

As an entire tooth bonding treatment can be completed in a single appointment, it has obvious appeal compared to, say, porcelain veneers, the fitting of which could require more than two visits.

However, be careful to research the implications of bonding to help yourself to decide whether it would really be the best move for you. The treatment wouldn’t, for example, be able to correct an over- or under-bite that has lumbered you with a crooked smile.

How to look after your bonded teeth

Once the treatment is complete, you should remember to schedule regular check-ups at your dental practice, as the completed bonding could be prone to chipping or staining.

The chipping could occur if, for example, you bite on ice, hard food – including, yes, hard sweets – or your fingernails, while the resin could become discolored if you are a heavy smoker or coffee drinker. The saving grace here is that bonding can be easily repaired if it is damaged.

How tooth bonding differs from veneers

The ease of repairing damaged bonding marks it out from, say, veneers, which you would need to get replaced entirely were you to damage them. Given that veneers are significantly pricier than tooth bonding treatments to provide in the first place, replacements wouldn’t bode well for your finances.

Nonetheless, veneers do last longer than the results of bonding, so don’t rule them out too quickly.

The risks of tooth bonding treatments

The good news here is that, well, there aren’t any risks – and certainly not any serious ones. However, as the composite resin won’t match your natural teeth for strength even once hardened and finished, you do need to be careful with them, such as by heeding the information in this article.

It’s also recommended that you find a reputable provider of this treatment. London-based people will be in safe hands when receiving teeth bonding from Ten Dental, an esteemed local clinic group.