If you’re unhappy with how your smile looks in Dacula, Dr. Josh Haycock is here to help. At Auburn Hills Family Dentistry, our team specializes in cosmetic dentistry in Dacula. With treatments like dental bonding, you can restore minor chips, cover up discolored teeth, and correct imperfections like gaps in your smile. Read on for more information, or contact us now to schedule an appointment right away.
What Is Dental Bonding?
Dental bonding uses composite dental resin to reshape and restore your teeth. This resin is added directly to your existing enamel, and can be used to correct a wide variety of cosmetic issues.
In the bonding process, Dr. Haycock will clean and prepare your teeth by etching them with an acid solution, which ensures a strong hold for the resin. Then, he will apply several layers of tooth-colored composite resin to your tooth, sculpting and trimming the resin to adjust the shape of your tooth. Once the overall shape looks right, the bonding material will be hardened and trimmed further to ensure a perfect fit.
Bonding is non-invasive, fast, and is very versatile. It is commonly used to treat minor chips in the teeth, to cover up stained teeth, and to resolve issues like misshapen teeth or gaps in your smile.
Bonding Vs. Veneers: What’s The Difference?
Bonding may sound very similar to veneers, and in some ways, it is. Both bonding and veneers can be used to correct a wide variety of cosmetic dental issues, and either one may be suitable for your needs, depending on your case.
But there are a few major differences. First, dental bonding is reversible and does not involve the removal of any of your enamel. This is not the case with veneers. You will need to have around 0.5mm of tooth material removed to prepare for the veneer “shell” that will fit over your existing tooth, and this process cannot be reversed.
Bonding is also faster than veneers. You can have multiple teeth bonded in a single appointment, and it often takes as little as 30 minutes for Dr. Haycock to treat each tooth. In contrast, veneers require at least 2 appointments over a period of 2-3 weeks.
However, veneers are a bit more durable and are more versatile than bonding, so they may sometimes be a better choice. Dr. Haycock can help you explore your options for cosmetic dentistry in further detail, and choose the right treatment for your needs.
Aftercare & Upkeep For Dental Bonding
After your dental bonding procedure is complete, there will be no downtime or recovery period. You can get back to your day-to-day routine immediately, and you usually won’t even experience any soreness or tenderness in your treated teeth.
To care for your newly-bonded teeth, make sure to brush twice a day and floss once a day, and to see Dr. Haycock for regular preventive care and oral exams.
In addition, you should avoid doing things that could damage your bonded teeth, such as chewing hard foods (almonds, popcorn, etc.) with your front teeth, using your teeth as “tools” to open bags or packages, or chewing non-food objects like fingernails, pencils, or pens.
The Benefits Of Dental Bonding
One of the primary benefits of dental bonding is that it delivers really fast results. Unlike some other cosmetic treatments like veneers, it takes only a single appointment to restore a tooth, and it’s usually possible to treat multiple teeth during your consultation at Auburn Hills Family Dentistry. If you want fast results, bonding is a great choice.
In addition to this, dental bonding is non-invasive. In most cases, it requires no drilling of your enamel, or even any numbing shots at all. Resin is simply added to your tooth to build it up, with no need to remove the natural material. Again, this is very different from veneers, which require permanent enamel removal.
This has the added benefit of making dental bonding reversible. While it’s very rare for patients to want their treatment to be reversed, the bonding material can be removed without damaging the enamel if a patient ever changes their mind about their treatment.
Dental bonding is also quite affordable. It usually costs a lot less than comparable treatments like veneers, so it’s a better option if you’re on a budget and don’t have that much money to spend on cosmetic care.
And, of course, the results of dental bonding are striking. With bonding from Dr. Haycock, your smile will look natural, feel great, and help build your confidence and your self-esteem. With dental bonding at our office, you can treat issues ranging from gaps between teeth to stained teeth, uneven teeth, misshapen teeth, and much more.
Is Dental Bonding Considered Cosmetic Dentistry?
This depends on the situation, particularly if you’re wondering whether or not insurance will cover your treatment. Generally speaking, dental bonding is considered to be a cosmetic treatment if you are getting care purely for aesthetic reasons.
For example, if you have a gap between your front teeth that makes you self-conscious and you choose to get dental bonding from Dr. Josh Haycock to enlarge your teeth and close the gap, this will be considered cosmetic dentistry. Your dental insurance will not cover your treatment because it wasn’t “necessary” to protect your oral health.
However, this is not always the case. Dental bonding can also be used to restore teeth from minor injuries and accidents, in some cases. Let’s say you slip, fall, and chip your tooth. Then, you recover the tooth fragments and bring them into Auburn Hills Family Dentistry. Dr. Josh Haycock uses bonding to attach the fragments to your tooth.
This usually will not be considered cosmetic dentistry. Chipped teeth are a serious oral health issue, and in some cases, bonding can be used to treat them. In this case, insurance would likely cover the cost of treatment up to applicable limits.
The specifics can vary based on your insurer. But in general, just remember that if you’re getting bonding for purely cosmetic reasons, it will be considered a cosmetic treatment. But if it’s done to resolve or help a dental health issue, it may be covered as a “restorative” dental treatment.
