Our Dental Blog

Does Your Chipped Tooth Need Bonding/Contouring?

January 13, 2020

If you have a chipped tooth, or one suffering from esthetic issues, like being misshapen or stained, we can often help in a single visit. Your Kansas City, MO, dentist can use bonding and contouring to completely transform a tooth’s appearance in as little as one visit. But how do bonding and contouring work, and when should you see us for treatment.

a person showing his teeth

The Bonding and Contouring Process

With dental bonding, we start by removing any decay for the tooth and then thoroughly cleaning it. Next, we prepare the bonding material, which is made from a metal-free composite resin. We shade the material to blend with the color of your tooth and apply the material in several different layers. We then shape the tooth as we cure it under a special light. Finally, we polish the tooth to ensure a more lifelike appearance. With contouring, we reshape the tooth by buffing and sanding away small sections of outer structure to treat the tooth. Again, the process only takes one visit and in fact, we can often perform it in the same visit.

When to Seek Treatment

With the bonding procedure, we can mask permanent teeth stains, the kind that form below the surface and may not respond to teeth whitening treatments. Our team also uses the treatment to reshape chipped or malformed teeth, lengthen worn teeth down, and even close unsightly gaps between them. With contouring, we can again reshape malformed teeth, and remove any pits or grooves in the tooth’s surface. We can also remove rough patches in the tooth, correct the appearance of overly large teeth, and also repair minor chips as well. If you have sharp or overly pointed teeth, we can dull them easily.

Protecting Your Smile With Mouthguards

We often prescribe these treatments for damaged teeth. But what if you could limit the chances of a tooth becoming chipped, cracked, or knocked loose (or out)? Well, with a custom mouthguard you can help safeguard your teeth against injury when you play sports or engage in athletic activities that could injure one or more of your teeth. These provide a greater level of protection than simple boil-and-bite models. We create them based on detailed impressions and the process is quick. If you would like to learn more about our mouthguards, or about our single visit cosmetic treatment options, then contact our team today. We would love to help you obtain a more attractive smile in 2020!

Ready for a Cosmetic Visit?

With cosmetic treatments, our team can help repair a tooth in as little as one sitting. We also have preventive options to protect your teeth for injury and other complications. To learn more about cosmetic dentistry, then please schedule a consultation by calling Cosmetic & Implant Dentistry of Kansas City, MO, today at 816-427-4018.