Cosmetic Bonding

Cosmetic bonding is a technique where we are able to ‘bond’ (fuse) a tooth-colored resin to tooth structure.  Matching color, and the artistry with which it is applied is obviously very important for the looks and durability of the restoration.

Below you will find a few very typical cases of cosmetic bonding performed by Dr. Kurthy:

In the following case, this patient had several dark old fillings, as well as some white discoloration spots on her teeth.  In the second photo, we have circled all the areas treated with cosmetic bonding.

And the following photograph shows the final result.  About 40% of the surfaces of these teeth is cosmetic bonding, and the other 60% is the natural tooth structure.  It is virtually impossible to see where the bonding is compared to the natural tooth structure.  This is where the artistry of the dentist is important.

The next case is of a young lady who had just finished having braces. Most people have four front teeth (the incisors), but she was born with only two.  Her orthodontist chose to move the cuspid teeth (canine, or eye teeth) towards the middle to take the place of the missing teeth.  The problem here is that everyone’s cuspid teeth are much more pointed, larger and darker than the missing lateral incisors would have been. 

Dr. Kurthy chose to match the color of the two front teeth, instead of the cuspid teeth.  He re-shaped the cuspid teeth, and filled in the front corners of the teeth with bonding resin matching the two front teeth.  This gave the optical illusion that she had a wider and brighter smile.

The following two sets of before and after photographs show very typical repairs of chipped teeth.  Notice how “invisible” these repairs are.

And in the last typical case you will see advanced gum recession, and the resulting darkening and wear of the exposed root surfaces.  Not only did Dr. Kurthy create an enhanced appearance of the worn root surface, but you will also see that he created more gum tissue to prevent further recession.