Menu Dr. Duane Delaune's Blog Phone
Phone: 504-885-8869 Main Site Pen Icon Reviews: GoogleFacebook Dr. Duane Delaune's Blog
phone: 504-885-8869
  • Welcome to the Blog of Dr. Duane Delaune

Dental Bonding Doesn’t Match

September 18, 2020 by writeradmin

I chipped a tooth after a fall. My dentist wanted to put a crown on the tooth, but I did some research and saw the best solution was dental bonding so I asked him to do that. He agreed, but the results aren’t that great. The colors don’t match so you can really tell it is a repair. Is it okay to have this dentist do it again? Should I have to pay for it to match?

Olivia

Dear Olivia,

before and after dental bonding for a chipped tooth

When dental bonding is done correctly, it can match perfectly with the rest of the natural tooth. However, it isn’t easy to do. Not only is it done freehand, but many dentists don’t carry enough of a selection of shades and textures to do this right. When a dentist suggests something like a dental crown for a chipped or gapped tooth, which is a massive overtreatment, it is an indication they are uncomfortable with cosmetic dentistry.

You have two options: The first is to give your dentist another chance to get this right. Explain to him that the repair is obvious and doesn’t match the rest of your tooth. If he cares about the quality of his work, he should be willing to do it again. And, no, you shouldn’t have to pay for it.

I would give your dentist another opportunity to get this right. You shouldn’t have to pay for the color to match. That is part of what you paid for in the beginning. Don’t be surprised if he still struggles, but it is fair to give him another chance.  If after the second go he still can’t get it to match, then I would suggest your next step is to ask for a refund, then find an experienced cosmetic dentist.

Who Should Do Your Cosmetic Bonding?

In your place, if it doesn’t work out with your original dentist, then I am going to suggest you look at the mynewsmile.com website. The man who runs this site has retired from cosmetic dentistry but wanted to offer patients a service to help them know who has the skills to do beautiful cosmetic work. Most patients don’t realize that there isn’t a recognized specialty in cosmetic dentistry. That means any general dentist can call themselves a cosmetic dentist regardless of the level of skill they have.

To make matters worse, most of the skills they need for well done cosmetic work isn’t even taught in dental school. For a dentist to develop the necessary skills they will have to invest in post-doctoral training. It’s nearly impossible for patients to know which dentists have done that. The mynewsmile site, pre-screens dentists for their technical training as well as the artistry of their work. Only those who pass his rigorous standards can be listed. Any dentist on that site can give you a beautiful, natural-looking result.

Should You Whiten First

I don’t know if your dentist mentioned this, but the color that is created for your dental bonding is permanent. If you were to whiten your teeth at a later date, your natural tooth structure would whiten, but not the bonding. Therefore, most cosmetic dentists will warn their patients if they are even considering getting their teeth whitened, it will save them money to do it before they have the bonding done. This will save them money by not having to replace the bonding after they whiten.

This blog is brought to you by New Orleans Cosmetic Dentist Dr. Duane Delaune.

Filed Under: Dental Bonding Tagged With: chipped tooth, finding a cosmetic dentist, gapped teeth, teeth whitening, tooth bonding

Dental Bonding Disaster

August 2, 2020 by writeradmin

I had several teeth get have dental bonding done because of abfraction lesions. Before this (aside from the lesions) my smile was beautiful. Now, it looks darker, dull, and feels rough. Is it possible for this to be removed and re-done to where the teeth look natural or will it damage the underlying tooth to replace it? Also, one of them popped off. I’m guessing that is not normal.

Meagan

Dear Meagan,

An image of an abfraction lesion.It is a real shame you are dealing with this. And you are right that having your dental bonding pop off isn’t normal. Let’s start with abfraction lesions for the benefit o those who may not know what they are. As you can see from the picture to the left, the gum tissue has pulled away from the tooth.

We used to think this was from brushing too hard, but now we believe it has much more to do teeth grinding or clenching, which will cause the tooth to flex a little. This weakens your tooth which will lead to the tissue being worn away at the gumline. Your dentist can fill these areas with dental composite material and it shouldn’t be that hard.  Obviously, for your dentist it was.

This dental bonding can be re-done, possibly even resurfaced without having to re-do the whole thing. Your dentist should either be willing to re-do them or to give you a refund so you can get them done elsewhere by someone more qualified. If he re-does them, it is important that he uses a more flexible dental bonding material, such as Silux Plus and Renamel. Using this type of material that can flex a bit will ensure they stay put and not pop out on you anymore.

As for getting it to match, that shouldn’t be that hard, yet he is still struggling with it.  It can be made to mate to match perfectly. Don’t let your dentist tell you otherwise.

dental bonding before and after

Directly above is a case Dr. Delaune did on some gapped teeth which should give you some idea of how well direct dental bonding can blend into the natural tooth structure and still look beautiful.

This blog is brought to you by New Orleans Cosmetic Dentist Dr. Duane Delaune.

Filed Under: Dental Bonding Tagged With: abfraction lesions, flexible bonding material, gapped teeth, matching dental bonding, tooth bonding

Dental Bonding Turning Yellow

June 11, 2020 by writeradmin

I’ve had dental bonding for just a few days. I really liked how they looked, but they’ve started turning yellow. I can’t think of anything I’ve done to them except maybe the fact that I brush with baking soda.  Is that a problem with bonding? Is it possible for me to whiten them?

Karyn

Dear Karyn,

before and after dental bonding for broken teeth

 

As you can see from the picture above, as well as the results you had, dental bonding can look both beautiful and natural, when well done by a skilled cosmetic dentist. Unfortunately, your dentist neglected to instruct you on how to properly care for them. The likely damage culprit, in your case, is the baking soda. It is an abrasive. This will damage the polish on your dental bonding enabling them to pick up stains.

I think your dentist should be willing to re-do the polish on them without charge for a couple of reasons:

  • First, he should have told you how to care for your new dental work. His neglect to do so led to this problem.
  • Second, it hasn’t been that long since you had the bonding done. It shouldn’t be a problem for him to work with this.

Taking Care of your Dental Bonding

The first thing I want to recommend is you get some Supersmile Toothpaste. This is specifically designed to work with cosmetic dental work and will protect it while safely removing stains.

Unfortunately, teeth whitening won’t work. It will whiten your natural tooth structure but not your bonding. This is why I recommended instead you have your dentist re-polish them.

I would also like you to look at this link.  It is a fairly extensive article on dental bonding. If you scroll down, there is a section just devoted to how to properly care for your new bonding.

This blog is brought to you by New Orleans Cosmetic Dentist Dr. Duane Delaune.

Filed Under: Dental Bonding Tagged With: stained tooth bonding, Supersmile toothpaste, teeth whitening, tooth bonding, whitening toothpaste

Finding a Cosmetic Dentist on Yelp!?

May 4, 2020 by writeradmin

I have chipped a few of my teeth due to teeth grinding. I’m going to get a smile makeover and am thinking of dental bonding because they’re likely less expensive than porcelain veneers. I am aware they take an expert cosmetic dentist. I’ve been going through Yelp! and found two in my area with very high ratings. Is there something else I should be looking for to help me choose between the two?

Jennifer

Dear Jennifer,

before and after dental bonding

It is great that you are trying to do research for you cosmetic dentist but I don’t think Yelp! is the way to go for this particular thing. It is a great resource for finding a decent dentist, but based on the research I’ve done, it doesn’t appear their algorithm judges based on the types of procedures. So they may have a lot of high ratings, but it has nothing to do with their ability to do beautiful cosmetic work. Those high rankings could be simply because they are a friendly office.

Before we go into a better way to find a great cosmetic dentist, though, I want to go over your procedure. You said you wanted a smile makeover which I’m assuming you mean to cover the tooth the way porcelain veneers would. Dental Bonding is much better for small amounts of work, like fixing a chipped tooth (as the images above show).

If you’re looking to cover the tooth the way porcelain veneers do, you will find that it will end up costing you more. Dental bonding is done freehand, which would take forever over larger surfaces. In fact, very few dentists will even do it. So depending on what you’re going for, you may want porcelain veneers.

Whichever procedure you choose, you will need to get a nightguard. This will protect your new dental work from the grinding you do at night. Without that, it will damage your veneers or bonding just like it did your natural teeth.

Choosing Your Cosmetic Dentist

There isn’t a recognized specialty in cosmetic dentistry. That makes it hard for patients to know who is good and who isn’t. One way to help with this is to go to the mynewsmile.com website. This is run by an expert cosmetic dentist who is retired from practice. He screens dentists who want to be listed for their training, technical skill, and artistry. A dentist can’t just pay to get listed on his site.

Any dentist recommended there can give you a gorgeous smile and are among the top cosmetic dentists in the country.

This blog is brought to you by New Orleans Cosmetic Dentist Dr. Duane Delaune.

Filed Under: Dental Bonding Tagged With: best cosmetic dentists, chipped teeth, finding an expert cosmetic dentist, mynewsmile, porcelain veneers, Smile Makeover, teeth grinding, Yelp!

Search

Recent Posts

  • Too Much Shine on My Porcelain Veneers
  • Cracked Porcelain Veneers
  • Should She Finish This Full-Mouth Reconstruction?
  • What Else is Necessary with Porcelain Veneers?

Archives

  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • December 2012
  • November 2012
  • October 2012
  • September 2012
  • August 2012
  • July 2012
  • June 2012
  • May 2012
  • April 2012
  • March 2012
  • February 2012
  • January 2012
  • December 2011
  • November 2011
  • October 2011

Topics

  • Affordable Dental Implants
  • all-on-4 dental implants
  • Best Dentist
  • Botox
  • Cosmetic Dentist
  • Dental Bonding
  • Dental Implants
  • Dentures
  • Emergency Dentistry
  • Gum Disease
  • Lumineers
  • Mercury-Free Dentist
  • Porcelain Veneers
  • Smile Makeover
  • Teeth Whitening
  • TMJ Dentist
  • TMJ Specialist
  • Tooth Contouring
  • Uncategorized
  • Zoom Whitening
Dr. Duane Delaune's Blog
Duane P. Delaune, D.D.S.
3801 N. Causeway Blvd. Suite 305
Metairie, LA 70002 USA
Phone: (504) 885-8869
See on the Map

©2008-2021 Delaune Dental • All rights reserved
Website Design and SEO by Infinity Dental Web