Dental Bonding Agents

Dental bonding agents have evolved quite a bit over the last several years. In the past the only solutions for damaged or decaying teeth were unsightly ones, but these days, thanks to new dental bonding agents, treatment of dental dilemmas can be quick, easy and virtually unnoticeable.

The most commonly used dental bonding agent these days is a composite resin that can be color-matched to each patient’s teeth so that a person’s dental work can blend in perfectly with their natural teeth.

Most new dental bonding agents are made of acrylic resin that contains inorganic fillers and photoinitiators and to understand how these bonding materials work it is important to first understand that there are two major elements that make up a tooth. The first is the enamel, which acts as a protective outer shell, and the second is the dentin, which makes up the bulk of the tooth’s structure. Dentin contains a lot of water so it can be hard to find a substance that will stick to it permanently but most new dental bonding agents work by creating a ’hybrid layer’ on top of the exposed dentin. This layer not only forms a strong bond, it also creates a protective seal.

Most dental bonding involves just one visit to the dentist so it is usually extremely convenient. The first step of the process involves a special etching gel being applied to the teeth, which makes them slightly rough and better able to accept the dental bonding agent. Once the tooth is primed the bonding agent is applied in layers and hardened with a high-intensity light. Once the appropriate number of composite resin layers has been applied and hardened the tooth is sculpted and polished. Usually the procedure takes about an hour if the problem that is being corrected isn’t too severe.

Composite resin dental bonding agents are far superior in form and function to outdated amalgam fillings. Silver amalgam fillings tend to stick out like a sore thumb as soon as a person opens their mouth, while resin fillings are virtually invisible. There is also very little structural damage done to the teeth when it comes to applying modern composite resin bonding agents. Composite resin is also more durable and tends to last quite a bit longer than amalgam because as the teeth expand over time so does the composite resin.

Dental bonding agents can benefit just about anyone, so whether you are sick of the space between your teeth, you need a filling, or you want to get rid of cracks and stains there is no easier way to fix your dental problems.