When it comes to addressing and improving small problems with the appearance of your smile, you may find yourself a bit confused as you begin researching your options. Patients are often extremely excited to learn about bonding and contouring but then have some difficulty differentiating between the two. This is not surprising, considering that they both improve small imperfections, offer budget-friendly solutions, and are completely comfortable. However, when it comes to figuring out which treatment is best for you, it’s good to know what’s what. For a bit more information, we encourage you to take the following quiz:
Contouring vs. Bonding Quiz
- Contouring or Bonding: You have a chip in your tooth. It is cosmetic in nature, which means it is not threatening the health of your tooth. However, you do not like the way it looks and wish you could replace the missing tooth tissue.
- Contouring or Bonding: You have a small stain on one tooth and a minor crack on the other. You would like to camouflage these problems without resorting to more complex treatment like whitening or veneers.
- Contouring or Bonding: Two of your teeth look a little bit longer than the rest, which makes your smile look asymmetrical and a bit jagged.
- Contouring or Bonding: You have a tooth that looks a bit shorter than the others but it also has a rough border.
Answer Key
- Bonding. Though bonding and contouring can both address minor chips in different cases, if you are looking to replace tooth tissue, dental bonding is the treatment for you.
- Bonding. We can use dental bonding to paint a thin layer of composite over problem areas. We will color-match the composite to your surrounding tooth, so your smile looks beautifully and naturally improved.
- Contouring. This treatment is used to take a bit of tooth tissue away, rather than adding more. We will gently smooth away problems or, in this instance, reduce tooth tissue for a uniform finish.
- Bonding and Contouring. Okay, this one was a trick question! Fortunately, you can use both bonding and contouring together if necessary.
ABOUT YOUR SHREWSBURY, MA DENTISTS:
At Modern Dentistry, Todd A. Pizzi, DDS, and Luciana Messina, DDS, are dedicated to providing high-quality cosmetic, restorative, and preventive dentistry services to patients and families in Shrewsbury, Worcester, North and South Grafton, Westborough, Southborough, Northborough, Boylston, Hopkinton, Millbury, and all surrounding communities. To schedule your next appointment, contact our office by calling (508) 842-6356 today.
