In the pursuit of a perfect smile, dental bonding is one of the most effective and comprehensive techniques in use today. It’s a great way to correct gaps in your teeth, as well as chips, breaks, cracks, severe wear and stains that affect how they look.
When you need extensive dental treatment to correct your teeth, bite and smile, transitional bonding can be used for interim therapies between different procedures. It also helps with maintaining an aesthetic smile while we work on your teeth!
Dr. Patel has done extensive training on this highly specialized application of adhesive dentistry at the prestigious Cosmedent’s Center for Esthetic Excellence in Chicago, IL.
What is Dental Bonding?
Dental bonding is a procedure used to securely attach filling material to your tooth’s natural enamel and dentin, which combine to make teeth strong and resilient. Transitional resin bonding allows you to ease into your final dental treatments, based on your budget and the amount of time you can spare for them.
Transitional bonding can be used for everything from one tooth to full mouth rehabilitation, keeping your smile photo-ready even when you’re between dental therapies!
When do you Need Transitional Bonding?
Transitional bonding is an ideal cosmetic dentistry solution when:
- You have major orthodontic, bite or oral health issues that need extensive treatment.
- You have large spaces or gaps between your teeth, but do not want to opt for veneers or crowns.
- You want to maintain the cosmetic appearance of your teeth while other dental procedures are conducted.
- You need minor corrections for chipped, cracked or stained teeth.
- Your teeth are severely worn due to grinding, bruxing and clenching.
- You have budget or time constraints, and cannot get your final dental procedures conducted in one go.
What are the Advantages of Transitional Bonding?
- Dental bonding creates a durable and long-lasting attachment between your natural teeth and any filling material used to correct imperfections.
- It’s not as expensive as veneers and crowns, and can be used to treat gaps, cracks, chips and severe wear.
- Since composite resin bonding material can be colored to match your teeth, it blends in seamlessly with your natural teeth.
- Transitional bonding allows us to ‘test drive’ restorations and their effect on your bite and smile, before we put them permanently in place.
- Bonding material can also be used directly as filling for small cavities or covering the exposed root of a tooth.
- Transitional bonding allows us to work on your teeth over time, based on your convenience and financial abilities.
- Since minimal tooth prep is required, it is virtually reversible and an ultra-conservative form of change.
How is the Procedure Conducted?
- We will first examine your teeth to check whether you need minor corrections or extensive treatment, and let you know exactly what we find!
- Dr. Patel will apply an etching solution to the surface of your tooth, and then attach tooth-colored resin or composite material over it.
- If we’re using composite bonding to fill in small gaps or cracks, this can be done in a single visit and your teeth will look as good as new.
- If you need a lot of dental therapy to restore your teeth, we can use transitional bonding in between visits, so your teeth look and function normally.
- If you have severe wear to restore, Dr. Patel may take initial impressions and work with our lab tech to fabricate the best function and aesthetics possible.
How Long will it Last?
With newer stronger composites, transitional bonding is no longer just a temporary cosmetic ‘fix’ between other dental restorations. We’ll let you know how long your final therapy will take, and how often you need to come in for touch-ups.
Typically, dental bonding can last for years if you take care of it like your natural teeth, so make sure you brush and floss your teeth regularly, as well as follow any other oral hygiene practices that we suggest!