How can we help you?
At Cook Family Dentistry, we feel that you deserve to be fully informed about every aspect of your treatment. That is why we always take the time necessary to answer all your questions. Whatever your question, we've got the answer!
Here are a few of the questions we hear most often, but we encourage you to contact us if yours is not shown below.
Dental Bonding
Like many dental restorations and cosmetic treatments, the lifespan of tooth bonding depends on various factors. Some of the most common determinants include:
- Location of the bonded tooth
- Your bite and alignment
- Your eating habits
- Your oral health habits (smoking, alcohol use)
- Your dental hygiene
Tooth bonding on the front teeth can last between four and eight years. Your front teeth don’t usually maintain excessive pressure because your back teeth are used to bite and chew food.
However, your front teeth can get cracked or fractured if you’re not careful. We recommend avoiding hard, sticky, and chewy foods to maintain the bonding’s integrity.
Caring for a Bonded Tooth
You can prolong the lifespan of your bonding if you stay proactive with your oral health and hygiene. The bonding material is durable and nonporous, but it can still become stained if not well cared for. Brushing your teeth twice daily and flossing at least once each day is important for keeping your teeth healthy and attractive.
Bonding cannot be whitened, and when it becomes discolored, it can take on a dull, greyish hue. You can make bonding last longer if you continue seeing your dentist for exams and cleanings, and if you avoid foods and activities that can damage or discolor the bonding.
Tooth Bonding in Birmingham, AL
If you have a cracked, damaged, or misshapen tooth, schedule an appointment with us to discuss your cosmetic or restorative dentistry options.
For our friends and neighbors in Birmingham, cosmetic dentistry is becoming more accessible every day. That's because the team at Cook Family Dental knows your smile can be a tremendous asset in both your personal and professional life. So we strive to offer numerous dental treatments that will make your teeth look better with the least stress and effort.
For surface flaws on the visible parts of your smile, we may recommend dental bonding or a porcelain veneer. Each of these options solves the problem by concealing those flaws while using different methods and materials.
Dental Bonding Is Complete in One Visit
For the more straightforward method of covering tooth problems like chips, misalignments, and discoloration, we use the same material as for tooth-colored composite dental fillings to sculpt out your flaws. This substance is malleable so that your dentist can color and then shape it to match your surrounding teeth.
Porcelain Veneers Are Comprehensive and Durable
A veneer is more involved because it is fabricated in an outside dental lab from high-grade porcelain ceramic. To design it, your dentist takes an impression of the tooth to be treated and then sends that out for production. You return within a week or two when your veneer is ready, and we prepare your tooth and cement the veneer into place, even with your tooth surfaces. Because porcelain is dense and strong, porcelain veneers usually outlast dental bonding treatments for a restoration that lasts ten years or even longer.
At Cook Family Dental, we approach any dental treatment with an eye toward protecting your oral health while also taking aesthetics into account. When it comes to basic dental treatments, fillings are the most common and essential to protecting the health of your natural teeth.
Advanced Dental Technology
With updated dental materials, it is now possible to create dental fillings that match your natural teeth perfectly. In fact, tooth-colored fillings are so natural-looking that you may not be able to tell which tooth you had filled!
Benefits of Tooth-Colored Fillings
Apart from their lifelike appearance, tooth-colored fillings have other benefits. Because composite material can be shaded to match the color of your teeth, it can also be used to repair cracks and chips in your teeth and to fill in small gaps between teeth.
Another benefit of composite fillings is that we only need to remove the decayed portion of your tooth. This is important because we always want to preserve as much of your natural tooth as possible.
Contact Our Office
If you need to have a tooth filled and would like more information about how composite fillings can benefit you, please contact our Birmingham dental office. We will be happy to make an appointment to determine if tooth-colored fillings are the best option in your case.