Dental bonding is an excellent way to patch up all kinds of minor dental issues, ranging anywhere from tiny chips to discolored teeth. The procedure is so fast, and the results so seamless, that you might hardly even remember that you’ve had work done on your teeth.
It may come as a surprise that if you’re interested in teeth whitening, your bonded tooth may need to be treated a bit differently. Here’s what you should know.
How Do Bonded Teeth Respond to Teeth Whitening?
Teeth whitening is done with a whitening gel, which is specially designed to penetrate the enamel and lift stains. This works due to the porous nature of natural enamel.
Dental bonding material, however, is made of a less porous plastic material. As a result, teeth whitening gel won’t work on the area of the tooth where work has been done in the past. This leads to uneven coloration on your teeth, which is obviously less than ideal.
Teeth Whitening If You’ve Had Dental Bonding
As you might have guessed, the best thing that you can do if you want both teeth whitening and dental bonding is to get the teeth whitening first. Then you can get the dental bonding suited to match the new color of your teeth.
If you’ve already gotten your dental bonding, you’re in a little bit of a trickier position. There are really two options for you: The first is to remove the previous bonding material and replace it once teeth whitening has been completed. This is a decent option if your dental work is at the end of its life cycle anyway—dental bonding typically lasts for around ten years.
The other option is to follow up the whitening treatment by placing a veneer on the tooth that has had dental bonding done to it. Veneers can be color-matched to your new smile, which means that you can preserve the aesthetics of your tooth and whiten the rest of your smile too.
About the Author
Dr. Ali Albeer is a dentist who is known for the gentle approach he takes with his patients, resulting in a more comfortable experience for them and a more rewarding practice for him. He is enormously fulfilled by his work, and it drives him to be a better dentist every single day. Dr. Albeer initially studied dentistry at Baghdad University Dental School and practiced there for ten years before moving to the U.S. in 2007. Here he received a degree from the University of Colorado Dental School and has become a Fellow of the Academy of General Dentistry.
If you have any questions about direct bonding, he can be reached at his website or by phone at (972) 499-6835.