Composite bonding: what it can and cannot do

Composite bonding is tooth-coloured resin, shaped and polished directly onto the tooth in a single visit. No laboratory, no temporaries, and in most cases no drilling of healthy enamel. That combination is why it has become the first step for so many people who want a change without committing to porcelain.

It suits small corrections beautifully: chipped edges, uneven lengths, narrow gaps, a tooth that sits slightly behind its neighbour. Done well, the repair is invisible and the tooth underneath is untouched.

Where bonding is the wrong answer

Bonding cannot move teeth. If the underlying position is crowded or rotated, adding material only makes the teeth bulkier — the result looks heavy and is harder to clean. In those cases alignment comes first, usually with Invisalign, and bonding afterwards refines the edges.

It also cannot lighten a dark tooth reliably, and it will not mask a heavily discoloured root-treated tooth. Whitening or a crown is the honest route there.

How long it lasts

Composite stains and wears more readily than porcelain. With good hygiene and a nightguard where grinding is a factor, most bonding looks its best for five to seven years before it needs polishing or replacing. Coffee, red wine and smoking shorten that considerably.

It is a repairable material, which is part of its appeal — a chipped edge can be added to rather than remade.

What a visit looks like

• A conversation about what bothers you, with photographs taken for reference
• A trial of the proposed shapes, either digitally or in wax, before anything is placed
• One appointment for treatment, usually two to three hours for six to ten teeth
• A review two weeks later to polish and adjust