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,

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.

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.