Veneers & Bonding
Our Waterview Dental dentists bring specialised expertise – extensive training, continued education and years of experience – to provide these services.
Two procedures that help to make your smile more beautiful are dental bonding and veneers. These treatments improve a variety of cosmetic concerns such as chips and cracks, gaps, discolouration of the teeth, and others.
How bonding works
The process of bonded restoration, or bonding, is a way to painlessly repair minor tooth imperfections. In most cases, one visit is all you need to bond several teeth. Dental bonding is the application of a resin to the surface of the teeth, which is then cured with a specialized light.
After the dentist applies a compound to roughen the tooth’s surface for better adhesion, they apply a tooth-coloured composite resin material. The composite resin is applied to the tooth, shaped appropriately and hardened or cured with exposure to a special light. A versatile material, the resin can be:
Matched to the colour of your existing teeth
Shaped to fit perfectly the missing part of a chipped tooth
Restore a broken tooth to its original size
Fill up teeth
Used to fill between teeth
Painted over stains, matched to the colour of the surrounding teeth
Unlike other dental cosmetic treatments, including porcelain veneers, bonding is entirely reversible.
The ins and outs of veneers
A little more involved than bonding, porcelain veneers require at least two dental visits to apply. However, if you are getting the composite resin alternative, it’s often possible to complete it in only one visit.
Very thin porcelain or composite resin shells, veneers are applied to the front of the teeth. The porcelain veneers are stronger than resin and don’t experience staining or change in colour. They generally last longer than composite resin veneers, too.
How we apply composite resin veneers
Matching the composite resin to the colour of your natural teeth, the dentist applies it on your tooth in layers. After each application, it is hardened with a bright light. The dentist shapes and polishes the final layer of composite resin to form your tooth for a smooth and natural-looking finished tooth!
How we apply porcelain veneers
The application of porcelain veneers may require a local anaesthetic (freezing/numbing). A more extensive procedure than composite veneers, to apply porcelain veneers, the dentist must remove a thin layer of the tooth enamel. This step allows room for the veneers.
The dentist must also create a mould of your teeth. From the mould, the dentist can custom-fit the veneers to your teeth. While you wait for your veneers, the dentist will likely install a temporary veneer to protect the surface that was removed. The temporary veneers are quite fragile, and you need to treat them very gently while eating and brushing – they come loose easily.
Much like bonding, the dentist applies a mild chemical to the front surface of the tooth to allow for better adhesion of the veneer to the enamel. When you come for your permanent veneers, after removing the temporary ones, the dentist will apply the roughening chemical on your teeth. They then glue the porcelain veneers to your teeth one by one with composite resin cement.