I had dental bonding done on a few of my upper front teeth about three weeks ago. They have started staining. I don’t know if it is because I drink coffee and soda. My dentist never mentioned staying away from those. I have a couple of questions. First, can the dentist get the dental bonding looking like it did a few weeks ago? Second, if I use something like Supersmile toothpaste, will it keep those type of stains off or do I need to stop drinking them. Please say I do not need to stop drinking them.
Melody
Dear Melody,
I am glad that you wrote. While it is true that dental bonding is more susceptible to stains, it should not be staining this quickly. My guess is you had a regular family dentist do this who does composite fillings and thought the bonding would be the same. Here is what I think happened. Bear in mind that I have not examined you, but I’m trying to think about what could cause this.
Composite used in dental bonding is a blend of resin and inorganic fillers. Their are different types of fillers and which one your dentist uses makes a big difference. Some of the particles in the fillers include silica, quartz, and glass, and they are in particles of different sizes.
Hybrid composites are stronger because of the size of the particles, but these cannot be polished to a good shine. Microfills can be polished to a high luster that mimics tooth enamel, but they’re very small and, as a result, not very strong.
Most family dentists only carry the hybrid, high-strength composite fillers. Expert cosmetic dentists will stock a variety of fillers that contain both the hybrid, as well as the microfills.
When expert composite dentists are doing aesthetic bonding, they will combine the two. They’ll use the hybrids on the interior of the tooth for strength and then cover the surface with the microfills so they can have a high polish.
My suggestion is that you go back to your dentist and see if he can polish it up. If he can’t, then I would go to an expert cosmetic dentist to have it done.
If the bonding is on a small surface, like for a chipped tooth or a tooth gap, then stick with the bonding. However, if you have large surfaces of the teeth covered in bonding, I suggest you switch to porcelain veneers. It would be a more beautiful option that lasts many years longer.
As for Supersmile Toothpaste, it is the only one I would recommend for cosmetic dental work. It is very good at safely removing surface stains. If yours are more internal, it won’t do anything for those.
This blog is brought to you by Duluth, GA Dentist Dr. David Marion.