While tooth bonding and contouring are popular procedures for many patients, many more don’t realize the benefits that one or both treatments can offer their smiles. Bonding and contouring are minimally invasive but highly lifelike cosmetic dental procedures designed to address several different types of cosmetic issues. Tooth bonding and contouring work by concentrating on the details of your tooth’s appearance, such as size, shape, and outline, ensuring that all of your teeth enjoy a full, healthy, and uniform appearance.
Fortifying your tooth with bonding
When a tooth is chipped, lightly cracked, oddly spaced, or suffers from other types of minor tooth damage, your dentist can suggest bonding the tooth to avoid the need for a complete dental crown. Bonding involves the use of tooth-colored composite resin, which is made from finely ground, biocompatible acrylic. Your dentist will customize the resin to match your tooth’s specific color and shade and apply it to the appropriate area of your tooth. Then, your dentist will carefully sculpt it to match the overall appearance of the tooth and harden and polish the resin for durable and highly lifelike results.
Resculpting your tooth with contouring
If your tooth overlaps another or has a rough, jagged edge, then bonding it may not the answer. Instead, your dentist can recommend contouring, or gently sculpting and smoothing the tooth to correct its appearance. Unlike bonding, contouring takes away from your tooth structure as your dentist will carefully sculpt away the overlapping or extraneous tooth structure. Depending on your specific needs and preferences, you may benefit from a combination of bonding and contouring to address multiple tooth blemishes at once.
Find Out if Bonding & Contouring Will Work for You
Besides keeping your smile improvement minimally invasive, tooth bonding and contouring can also work for several different types of tooth blemishes. To learn more, schedule an appointment by calling Lathrop Dental Center in Katy, TX at 832-437-3849. We proudly welcome patients and families from Katy, Fulshear, Weston Lakes, Simonton, Richmond, Rosenberg, Brookshire, Wallis, Orchard, Cypress, Sealy, Columbus, and all surrounding communities.
