For small defects in one or two teeth, Dr. Rothwell will
generally use tooth bonding. Sometimes, if the situation requires it, she
will do an entire smile with this direct technique. You can view examples
of her beautiful work in cases 3, 4, and 5 of our
smile gallery. Here is an explanation of what makes this
treatment different from
porcelain veneers:
Artistry required -Tooth
bonding requires artistic talent on the part of the dentist. It is
done freehand, at the chair, rather than in a laboratory. Dentists
without artistic ability are uneasy about attempting this type of
treatment. Dr. Rothwell, however, is one of those highly skilled
artist/dentists that can do this work and produce beautiful results.
Made out of composite
instead of porcelain - Bonding materials are a tooth-colored
composite paste that is hardened with the use of a curing light. While
they are very durable, they aren't quite as strong as porcelain.
One appointment instead
of two - Porcelain veneers are made in a laboratory, and thus they
require two visits. With this technique, you can walk out of the
office after one appointment with a new smile.
A more conservative
treatment - Healthy tooth structure doesn't need to be ground
away. A little roughening of the surface of the tooth is all that's
required to bond the composite to the tooth.
Newer composite materials enable a dentist/artist to imitate the
natural tooth in form, color, and texture. Defects in your teeth can truly
be repaired to where they are undetectable, and your confidence in your
smile can be fully restored. While porcelain veneers are great for
complete smile makeovers, tooth bonding is ideal for spots, chips, broken
front teeth, or discolorations. Gaps between your front teeth can be
closed in one appointment. With her artistic ability, Dr. Rothwell can
restore beauty to your smile.
Extensive training and considerable
artistic ability is required to properly apply this treatment.
Many dentists have difficulty matching and blending colors and
translucencies, as well as sculpting the tooth and polishing the
composite to the same luster as the natural teeth. For this reason,
many don't like to do direct tooth bonding.
On the left is an example of a typical
tooth bonding case. The photo shows a broken right front tooth. To
treat a case like this, Dr. Rothwell will roughen the surface of the tooth near
the break and then bond composite to the tooth.
The composite has been matched perfectly to the tooth in color and
translucency, and has been polished to the same luster. Look at
the tooth very closely and you will notice a thin band of very light
color at the biting edge, with a grayer, more translucent zone right
above it. This is called the "halo." Above that there is a blend of colors
that get slightly more yellow as you go up the tooth. Cosmetic
dentists are trained to achieve this color blend perfectly. The goal
is to make it so you can't tell where the composite ends and the
tooth begins.
Here is a direct tooth bonding case performed by Dr.
Rothwell. This patient had an accident that broke off one of the front
teeth. Many dentists would want to grind that tooth down and put a porcelain
fused to metal crown on it. Some even suggest placing two crowns, one on
each front tooth, so that they look the same.
Notice, however, that Dr. Rothwell has been
able to repair this tooth in one appointment, shaping the tooth so that it
looks perfectly natural and like the other tooth. The color blending also
requires artistic skill. Notice how the
color in the tooth changes over the
length of the tooth and from side to side. She has beautifully re-created the
whitish halo right at the biting edge of the tooth. Above that, there is a
translucent zone, then there is a zone where there is a little yellow in the
tooth.
The shaping of the tooth
bonding has been done perfectly also, and she has placed ridges in the front surface of the
repaired tooth that cause vertical reflection highlights. Slight
irregularities have been placed in the biting edge of the tooth, because
that's what its companion tooth has. When those irregularities are present,
it contributes to a youthful look, because front teeth, when they are young,
all have these irregularities, which are called mammelons.
See more of Dr. Rothwell's beautiful smile
artistry in our smile gallery.
