Enamel Bonding at Any Age?
By Dr. Linda Niessen -- Baylor College of Dentistry STORY: BONDING ALL AGES SCRIPT #524 SHOOT: 8/12/03 AIRDATE: Monday, Sept. 22, 2003
Monday, September 22, 2003
Dental bonding improves the look of tooth enamel. It's one of the most common procedures in cosmetic dentistry today. But can you be too young or too old to have your teeth bonded? Dr. Linda Niessen offers advice about bonding in today's Dental Health Check.
Composite bonding fills gaps, reshapes teeth, covers stains, and repairs chips. In the last ten years, bonding materials have improved so that they are stronger and last longer. For 15-year-old Matthew Pierson, that's important. His four top, front teeth were bonded.
"There were just all different colors, and different lengths. They weren't appealing whenever I smiled. I feel like a new person almost. I think 15 or even lower, starting in the teens is a great place to start," said Matthew.
At age 81, Louise Matthias has become a cover girl after cosmetic bonding. "80 years old, nobody expects a Hollywood smile for heavens sake, let's forget that. So I just wanted it done. And I thought, they turned out so well. I'm glad I did that."
Composite bonding saves money. One tooth costs about a third the price of porcelain veneers. But bonding does not last as long.
Dentist, Dr. Susan Hollar says this about bonding: "For a person to feel thrilled about smiling and about their big smile, and not want to hide anything about their smile is very freeing of their personality and lets the whole person shine through."
Dentists must be highly skilled in aesthetics to make bonding blend with your natural enamel. "Making it very artistic. We have the natural teeth we're going to match right there in the mouth," Dr. Hollar added.
Does Louise Matthias think it was money well spent? "Every penny of it," she said, "Absolutely."
Unlike porcelain veneers, the dentist removes very little tooth enamel for cosmetic bonding. And most bonding procedures require just one visit. For Baylor College of Dentistry, The Texas A&M University System Health Science Center in Dallas, I'm Dr. Linda Niessen, Channel 8 News.
Dr. Linda Niessen, clinical professor in the Department of Restorative Sciences and the Office of Communications and Development at Baylor College of Dentistry, hosts Dental Health Check, the only weekly dental feature shot on location in the nation.
