So in summary, teeth bonding is the use of white filling material to either fix a problem with the tooth or to enhance esthetics :)
A word of warning though - while dental bonding is much less invasive than doing veneers or crowns, it is more likely to stain around the edges with time and is typically not as esthetic as the latter. For many of my patients here in Medicine Hat, simple teeth bonding can be the minimally invasive solution that's just right.
What does minimally invasive even mean? Well, for bonding, it often means that we only have to remove the portion of the tooth that's already failing (the cavity or old filling), and then just round some of the sharp edges to make sure the bonded filling blends with the natural tooth. The reason veneers and crowns are typically more invasive is because you have to remove a lot more of the natural tooth (especially crowns) in order to have a successful outcome. The more tooth removed, the weaker the tooth and the more likely it is to need a root canal.
If a tooth is already very weak, then sometimes a crown is necessary, but that's a chat for another day :)
When it does come to black holes or triangles between the front teeth, it usually means some gum recession has taken place. Often times, if you do bonding on both front teeth, this little hole can be closed right up.
And even little imperfections in your neighbouring tooth can be matched with the right set of stains, glazes and more that are available with today's dental technology.
Hope you enjoyed this tooth minute tuesday! If you watched the vid and read all of this, it was probably more like a ten minute tuesday, but that still rolls of the tongue pretty well! Thanks for watching/reading :) See you next time!
-Michael the Dentist
Dr. Michael Wenzel is a Dentist, Filmmaker and Aspiring YouTuber from Medicine Hat, Alberta. Michael loves technology and practices dentistry exclusively through surgical operating microscopes. He and his wife Natalia own a wedding photography and filmmaking company named Follow the Hope.