Bonding
Bonding involves the use of special dental adhesives, plastic-like materials which are highly polishable and strong, to improve the appearance of teeth. Unlike veneers, which are made at the dental lab, dentists apply the bonding material and sculpt it right at the dental chair. This same material can be used to cosmetically fill back teeth instead of silver fillings. Bonding materials are carefully selected to ensure that the color matches the teeth. Bonding is most commonly used to fill chipped or worn teeth and to make cosmetic corrections to crooked or crowded teeth.
How It Works
First the tooth is chemically treated to "roughen" the enamel, so that the bonding materials will adhere to the tooth. The dentist then applies special dental adhesives, which secure bonding materials on the tooth. The bonding material comes in a number of colors, allowing dentists to make a match with the tooth's color. Once the bonding material has been secured on the tooth, the dentist shapes and polishes it to give natural appearance. A special "curing light" is used to harden the material.