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| Who Benefits from Bonding and Veneers |
| Many men and women have an unattractive smile due to their teeth displaying one or more deficiencies such as poor color, spaces between the teeth, worn or chipped teeth and unsightly old dental restorations. The dental community, therefore, has developed various methods to correct these problems of which two treatment options are “Bonding” and “Porcelain Veneers”.
The term “bonding” in reality refers to the actual sticking or adhering of any material to the teeth. Originally the technique of bonding was developed to adhere white filling material to the teeth, but has since been expanded by “bonding” ceramic materials to teeth also. Bonding materials to the teeth have afforded dentists the ability to place restorations in the mouth without being as destructive to the tooth and, at the same time, giving the patients assurance that their treatment will last for many years. However, for many, the term “bonding’ refers to placing a white filling or a composite resin onto or into the tooth. This resin material can be sculpted, colored and bonded onto the teeth in order to restore existing damage, create a desired color and shape or to replace existing fillings that are failing. Porcelain veneers were developed to solve many of the problems that are addressed with “bonding’, but instead of using a composite resin material, laboratory porcelain is utilized. As with composite resins, porcelain veneers are “bonded” onto the tooth. However, the properties of porcelain are superior to composite resin when considering longevity and optics, and since the porcelain veneer is manufactured out of the mouth in a laboratory, it can be made to a much higher degree of accuracy . Whether one receives a porcelain veneer or a composite resin restoration, the ultimate success will be dependent on the experience, talents and skills of the dentist and, if utilized, the dental laboratory. |