Can Bonded Teeth Be Whitened?
Your dentist can recommend dental bonding to enhance your smile. Dental bonding involves applying a tooth-colored composite resin material to the damaged tooth. The dentist uses a composite resin that matches your natural teeth.
Like your natural teeth, the dental bonding material can get stained or discolored over time. It can happen due to regular consumption of highly colored and acidic food items like coffee, tea, soda, and apple cider vinegar. When this happens, you might be wondering whether you can whiten your bonded teeth for a brighter smile. Keep reading to find out how you can whiten your teeth after dental bonding. Contact our dentist in Sugar Land, TX, for cosmetic treatments.
Why Bonded Teeth Can’t be Whitened
Teeth whitening or bleaching is a common procedure for removing teeth stains for a youthful and dazzling smile. Usually, the natural tooth’s enamel is porous, which allows the bleaching agents to penetrate through the tooth and remove stains.
Unlike your natural teeth, the bonding material is non-porous. While it can absorb staining agents over time, it stains at a slower rate. If your bonded tooth becomes stained, you’ll have different results with teeth whitening.
Whitening a bonded tooth will only whiten the natural part of the tooth while the bonding part will remain stained. It often gives a non-uniform appearance due to the difference in color between the newly whitened tooth and the bonded part of the tooth.
How to Whiten Bonded Teeth
Just because you can’t use whitening products to whiten bonded teeth does not mean you can’t whiten your smile. If you’re looking to brighten bonded teeth, your dentist can recommend:
- Whiten the unbonded tooth parts and then apply a new dental bonding material. The dentist will select the shade of the bonding material based on the shade of the newly whitened teeth.
- Use an alternative whitening treatment like dental veneers and crowns. A dental veneer can be placed on the front of the bonded tooth to cover up the stains. A dental crown offers better results as it covers the entire stained tooth structure.
Whitening your teeth before dental Bonding
If you’re interested in dental bonding and teeth whitening, it’s reasonable to have your teeth whitened before the dental bonding procedure. When bonding your teeth, the dentist will select a bonding material that closely matches the color of your newly whitened teeth. Contact our dentist for teeth whitening in Sugar Land, TX.
Tips for Maintaining a Bright Smile
Fortunately, you can do something to maintain a bright and beautiful smile for many years. Use these tips to care for your teeth:
- Brush and floss daily. It will help remove staining agents left behind after eating or drinking colored items.
- Avoid or limit high-colored food items like coffee, tea, wine, berries, tomato sauces, soda, and candy. Make sure you brush or rinse your mouth after taking such items.
- Schedule regular professional cleanings. Dental cleanings eliminate plaque and tartar that you can’t eliminate with normal brushing and flossing.
- Avoid tobacco products. Nicotine cause very stubborn stains.
- Use a straw when taking colored beverages to minimize the contact these items have with your teeth.
- Avoid abrasive and colored dental products.
Final Verdict
If you’ve stained bonded teeth, you can replace the bonding material or use alternative treatments like dental veneers or crowns. If you haven’t bonded your tooth, consider whitening your teeth before the bonding procedure. For more information about dental bonding in Sugar Land, TX, contact Bella Smiles Cosmetic and Family Dentistry.