Dental Bonding Archives - Auburn Dental

Bonding Doesn’t Match and Falls Off

March 31, 2025 by writeradmin

I went to my dentist to have some fluorosis stains treated. He’d said bonding would be the right solution. I was excited by that and went forward with it. Unfortunately, it’s been a bit of a nightmare. First, the color of the bonding does not match the rest of the tooth at all, making it obvious the bonding is there. Even worse they keep falling off. He always has me come back in a couple of days later and he replaces it with a thicker layer, but that hasn’t helped either issue.

Kevin

Dear Kevin,

I’m going to say right off the bat that you are in the hands of the wrong dentist. You need someone with cosmetic training. Your dentist obviously doesn’t have that. As you can see from the image above, when dental bonding is done correctly it will not only stay in (a fairly basic expectation) but will blend in seamlessly with the remainder of the tooth. You should not even be able to tell there was a repair done.

I’m not sure how your dentist thought making it thicker would make it bond better. My suggestion is that you ask for a refund on this procedure and then find a dentist who can do it correctly.

I do want to say a word about your fluorosis staining. If it is just mild staining, then, yes, dental bonding will be an adequate solution. If you have more substantial fluorosis staining over a larger surface area of the tooth, then you will be much better off with porcelain veneers to solve this problem. Like the bonding, you will need an expert cosmetic dentist. Look at Dr. Murphree’s bio to get an idea of what kind of dentist that you want to make your smile beautiful.

This blog is brought to you by Auburn, AL Dentists Drs. Murphree and Yount.

What If Your Bonding Looks Terrible?

May 15, 2024 by writeradmin

My daughter fell and ended up taking out a chunk of her two front teeth. Her pediatric dentist suggested we use dental bonding to do the repair. We trusted him and went forward with it. However, it looks absolutely terrible. The bonding is uneven, lumpy, and the color doesn’t match the rest of her teeth. She’s eleven years old and still has a week left in school and is too embarrassed to go. Was this the wrong treatment? Is there any way to fix it?

Stacey

Dear Stacey,

I am sorry this happened to your daughter. That is such a difficult age where they are already insecure about how they feel. While your daughter’s dentist was correct about the type of procedure you would use to fix this, he apparently does not have the skills to pull it off. That does not surprise me. Dental bonding is an advanced cosmetic procedure that has to be done freehand. Additionally, it requires a lot of post-doctoral training. Most pediatric dentists do not invest in cosmetic training, especially after all the extra training they’ve invested in for pediatric care.

The only way to fix this would be for the procedure to be completely redone. I would not expect your daughter’s dentist to be able to do any better the second time. Instead, I would simply ask for a refund and have it redone elsewhere.

At your daughter’s age, you would not need to see a pediatric dentist. Look for a dentist who has advanced training in cosmetic dentistry. Another thing you can do is look at their smile gallery to see what type of results they get. Bonding will last a few years and then need to be redone. Once she is older and everything is fully developed, you may want to switch her to porcelain veneers. These will last much longer than the bonding, but her oral development needs to be completed first.

This blog is brought to you by Auburn, AL Dentists Drs. Murphree and Yount.

Dental Bonding Is Already Stained

February 29, 2024 by writeradmin

I had dental bonding done about three weeks ago. It is already picking up stains. I have been drinking coffee, but my dentist never said anything about avoiding coffee. Is that the problem or is there something else going on?

James

Dear James,

While dental bonding does not last long, it should last much longer than three weeks. You’ll need to have someone with expertise in cosmetic dentistry examine this, but I can tell you what my suspicion is regarding what is going wrong with this.

There are a variety of fillers used in the composite used in dental bonding. These all have different properties and sizes.

Hybrid composites are stronger, but the size of their particles means they cannot be polished to a high shine. It is the polish that helps with it being stain resistant.

Microfills have extremely small particles that can be polished to a high luster that will even mimic tooth enamel. The downside to these is that they are not very strong.

There are newer nanofill composites that are saying they are a combination of both strength and polishability. Though, the jury is still out on that.

My guess is that you had your bonding done by your basic bread and butter family dentist. They will stock a general purpose composite bonding. What you need is an expert cosmetic dentist who keeps a wider variety of composites. What a skilled dentist would do in this case is to place a stronger resin on the interior, but then add the microfill on the surface in order to get that high polish. In addition to that, dentists will use a variety of shades and translucencies in order to mimic the appearance of natural teeth.

I suspect your dentist was not able to or did not know how to do those additional steps. You may want to show your dentist this post and give him or her an opportunity to repair this. If they don’t think they can do it or they are unwilling, then he should give you a refund so that you will be able to get it done by someone who can.

One other thing. Dental bonding does not whiten after it is applied. If you want whiter teeth, the time to have teeth whitening done is before the bonding is done.

This blog is brought to you by Auburn Dentists Drs. Murphree and Yount.

Fixing Enamel Hypoplasia

November 15, 2023 by writeradmin

I have enamel hypoplasia, which has led to me becoming uncomfortable in social situations. I recently heard there are cosmetic solutions for this. Do you have any recommendations for me?

Dudley

Dear Dudley,

I’m glad you wrote. I am going to start by explaining what enamel hypoplasia is for those who may be reading but are not aware of this condition. This is a physical defect where tooth enamel is not completely formed. It can happen because of a genetic condition or because of serious illness that occurs during the same time the teeth are still forming. Teeth are generally forming between birth to twelve years of age.

Now for the solution. The treatment you get will depend on the severity of the hypoplasia. In the image above, I’ve shown both mild and severe hypoplasia. With mild hypoplasia, you can have dental bonding done in order to even out the color on the teeth. If you want your teeth whiter, you will need to have teeth whitening done. Just make sure you have the teeth whitening done before you have the dental bonding done. This is because the whitening will not affect your bonding. So, get your teeth the color you want them and then your cosmetic dentist can match the bonding to that color.

If you have more severe hypoplasia, then dental bonding will not be a good solution for you. In that case, you would need to have porcelain veneers done. These are tiny wafers of porcelain that will completely cover the fronts of your teeth as well as hug the sides. These can do more than cover the stains. They can change just about anything about your teeth, including the shape, size, and color. This is the Hollywood type of smile makeover you see celebrities get.

This blog is brought to you by Auburn, AL Dentist Dr. Alan D. Yount.

Can Supersmile Remove Stains on Dental Bonding?

September 15, 2023 by writeradmin

I have dental bonding and they are beginning to stain. I know they don’t last as long as porcelain veneers, but I thought they would last longer than six and a half months. Will Supersmile toothpaste help them to whiten up again?

Paula

Dear Paula,

Whether or not Supersmile can help in your situation will depend on a few things. The first is whether the stains are internal or external. Nothing works on internal stains except for professional teeth whitening. Even then, it will only work on natural tooth structure and not on cosmetic work, such as your dental bonding.

If the stains are external, Supersmile could be a great option for you as long as the bonding still has its polish on it. Supersmile is one of the best things you can use for your teeth, especially when you have dental work. Most over-the-counter toothpastes are too abrasive. Supersmile works differently. It uses an enzyme known as Calprox that breaks down the protein pellicle. The stains bind to this pellicle and are removed safely.

If your dental bonding has lost its polish, then nothing will help except replacing the dental bonding. The timing of your staining makes me a bit suspicious. Is it possible you recently went in for a check up and cleaning? If so, did the hygienist use anything like a power prophy jet or acidulated fluoride? If so, that would have taken the polish right off of them.

Your question also makes me wonder about the surface area of your treatment. Dental bonding is better for smaller areas, such as a gap or chip in a tooth. If you are talking about the entire front of the tooth, you are much better off with porcelain veneers. They last years longer and are much more stain resistant. In fact, they are even more stain resistant that your natural teeth.

This blog is brought to you by Auburn, AL Dentist Dr. Alan Yount.