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Bonding & Veneers

Bonding & Veneer

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Bonding

Bonding and veneer make your teeth look better by changing their colour, shape or spacing.

Step 1
Your dentist puts a mild chemical on your tooth to make it a little rough. This step helps the composite resin stick better to the enamel of your tooth.
Step 2
The composite resin is mixed and tinted to match the colour of your natural teeth.
 
Step 3
Your dentist puts the composite resin on your tooth in layers.
 
Step 4
A very bright light is used to harden (or cure) each layer of resin as it is put on your tooth.
 
Step 5
After the last layer of composite resin is hardened (or cured), your dentist shapes and polishes the resin so the finished tooth looks natural and smooth.
 

Advantages

It's painless. There's usually only minor drilling involved, so there is no need for a local anesthetic.
It doesn't take much time. Several teeth can usually be veneered in one visit.
It costs a lot less than crowns. Before direct veneering, crowns were the only way to improve the look of chipped, widely-spaced or discoloured teeth.
It can be used on children, because bonded material can be removed and replaced as children's teeth grow.

Disadvantages

Bonding treatment doesn't last as long as crowns. It can last from five to 10 years, compared to 10 to 20 years for crowns. Some composite resins can be stained by tobacco, coffee, tea, blueberries, grape juice, cherries and

Red Wine.
If the seal between your tooth and the bonding material isn't perfect, decay can occur under the composite resin.

 
Veneer‏

Veneer is a very thin acrylic or porcelain shells that are attached to the front part of teeth. Like bonding, veneer can cover badly-stained teeth, chipped teeth, uneven teeth and large fillings.

Step 1
On your first visit, your dentist may give you freezing (called a local anesthetic). He/she then removes part of the enamel from your teeth to make room for the veneer. Your dentist makes a mold (or an impression) of your teeth. The impression is sent to a dental lab, where your veneer is custom-made. 
Step 2
On the next visit, your dentist puts a mild chemical on your teeth to make them a little rough. This helps the veneer stick to your teeth better.
 Step 3
The veneer is then attached to your teeth one by one, using composite resin cement.