Can I Whiten My Teeth with Dental Bonding?
Posted by writeradmin
I have dental bonding that has repaired a chip. It’s old and needs to be replaced. My teeth are pretty yellow too. Is it possible that I could whiten my teeth by using bonding over the whole tooth? I’d love to make the teeth a little longer, too. Price is not a concern.
Catherine
Dear Catherine,
While technically you could do that, I would not recommend it. First, while I know that price is not a concern for you, it would be significantly less expensive to just whiten your teeth than it would to place bonding on top of the entire surface of the tooth. Second, you would also have to replace the bonding every few years because they are quick to pick up stains. That is a waste of your time and resources.
Because you are wanting to change the shape along with the color, I’m actually going to recommend you get a complete smile makeover with porcelain veneers. I would start with teeth whitening, because people rarely place porcelain veneers on their bottom teeth unless there are structural problems. It also will help any teeth on your top arch that do not have veneers placed blend in more naturally with those which do.
Make sure you get an expert cosmetic dentist to do the work. Any general dentist can do cosmetic dentistry because it is not a recognized specialty. Unfortunately, smile makeovers are not adequately taught in dental school. In order to develop the technical skill and artistry needed to do them well, a dentist needs to invest in post-doctoral training.
I suggest you look not just at their training, but their smile gallery to make sure you like the type of results they get. If they do not have a smile gallery, then they are not a serious cosmetic dentist. I would look elsewhere.
This blog is brought to you by Arnold, MD Cosmetic Dentist Dr. Meredith Esposito.