Cosmetic & Restorative Dental Bonding in Leesburg, VA

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Choose Us For Your Aesthetic Dental Bonding

If you feel insecure due to your smile and you have cracks or chips in your teeth, dental bonding may be the right cosmetic solution for you. This common treatment involves the use of bonding material to improve the appearance of teeth with cracks, chips, gaps, discoloration, and other issues. The procedure is minimally invasive and involves very little reshaping of your teeth. You’ll find it to be quick, painless, and effective.

What is Dental Bonding?

The dental bonding agent is created from a composite resin material that is used in a gel-like form and then later cured or hardened once it has been molded into the appropriate look or shape. Dental bonding is typically made from a tooth-colored gel that can be colored to exactly fit the natural colors of every patient’s teeth. This is not the dental appliance that needs to be created and sent to a dental lab, as it is formed and shaped onto a patient’s tooth directly in the dental office during the appointment. It is a substance that can be shaped to restore the look of your teeth before cracks and chips.

What Dental Bonding Does

As mentioned above, dental bonding can be used to repair cracked and chipped teeth. Aside from the obvious, dental bonding can also help those patients who have an uneven texture or surface staining. This form of repair is popularly used often because of its tooth colored like filling. This bonding agent can be used to cover up teeth that have major discolorations that cannot be helped with a professional teeth whitening session. In addition, dental bonding can be used to close gaps between teeth that appear further apart. There are many ways that bonding can be used to repair aesthetic issues in your teeth. Ask your doctor about how this form of repair can help you and your situation.

One of the great reasons why dental bonding is so popularly used is that it instantly improves the look of your teeth without any sort of waiting period. This adds a great form of relief to those who may be looking for instant results. If you have a large chip in your tooth that doesn’t reach your gum line, you can set up an appointment with your dentist and have this repaired within one appointment. The great part about this restorative procedure is that the dental bonding agent can be dyed to match your natural-colored teeth. Another great reason why dental bonding is so popular is that once you see it becomes discolored or doesn’t seem to match your natural color teeth any longer, it can be reapplied to ensure the restorative option continues for many years to come

3 Steps in the Bonding Process

As mentioned above, dental bonding is incredibly fast and easy for both the dentist and the patient. Check out the steps below on what exactly happens during this restoration option.

  1. Firstly, the dentist will clean the tooth thoroughly and dry it up. The reason why dentists clean the teeth before the bonding agent is so that the cleansers provide a good foundation for the adhesives to be added to the tooth and allow the bonding agent to stick and receive the bonding.
  2. Next, when the tooth is prepped and cleaned, it will be ready to receive the bonding. The bonding resin is made of various components that are made of tooth-colored materials that adhere like glue. The resin can be added and applied in layers until the dentist is happy with the amount of thickness that it achieves. Between each layer, the resin will be added and cured with a special light, and the process continues until the dentist is happy.
  3. The compound can then be colored to match your natural teeth exactly. The resin dries quickly and easily. The repaired tooth can then be cleaned again and polished to mimic the patient’s natural teeth. Depending on the number of teeth that need to be adjusted, each tooth can typically take about an hour or two, depending on the severity of the damage and whether or not it is a crack or a chip in the tooth.

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Candidates for Dental Bonding

There are many reasons as to why patients can be a candidate for dental bonding. The patient is in need of repairs that are similar to the ones listed above, then he or she may be a candidate. There are some patients who may not be candidates for dental bonding for a few reasons. The patient has a crack in the natural tooth, and the tooth crack flows below the gum line; this patient may not be a candidate for tooth bonding. The reason why this patient is not a candidate for this kind of repair is that the tooth cannot be repaired from below the gum line using dental bonding. Unfortunately, if the tooth has a crack that flows below the gum line, the tooth becomes at risk for infections, bacteria, or disease. The only way these types of infections can be prevented is by extracting the necessary tooth. The reason why dental bonding cannot be used to repair this tooth is that dental bonding cannot be added and cured from below the gum line. The only way to avoid complications is by removing this tooth and replacing it with a restoration or a tooth replacement.

Composite Bonding Durability

Dentists will always tell you that the dental bonding agent may need to be touched up in the near future. However, if it is cared for properly, it can last a number of years so long as it is not chipped again or discolored. You can take care of it just as you would your natural teeth, by brushing and flossing every day and visiting your dentist twice a year. However, the resin is not like a natural tooth and will stain much quicker than your natural teeth. If this happens, do not worry, as more layers can be added to ensure the color matches your natural teeth for years to come.

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Meet Dr. Tracey Nguyen

Dr. Tracey Nguyen received her Doctor of Dental Surgery, Magna cum laude, at Virginia Commonwealth University Medical College of Virginia. Dr. Nguyen is trained in all phases of implant dentistry, and has received extensive training in cosmetic dentistry. She is also a manuscript/review editor for the Academy of General Dentistry.

More About Dr. Nguyen

We are located in Leesburg, VA but proudly serve Lansdowne, Reston, Broadlands, Ashburn, Sterling, and all neighboring communities.