I want to get my smile fixed. I have two chipped teeth. I want to get them fixed. My dentist said to do dental bonding for that, but he wants me to whiten my teeth first. Can’t I just get the chips fixed and then later when I have more money get the teeth whitening done? I really don’t want to live with these chips anymore and this seems like an additional procedure which will just make things take longer.
Sandy M.
Dear Sandy,
Your dentist isn’t trying to add on an unnecessary procedure in this case. He’s actually trying to look out for your best interest. An important factor in teeth whitening is it only works on natural tooth structure. Imagine for a moment the images above are from your repair.
If you get the dental bonding done without having your teeth whitened, that is fine. However, if you decide to whiten your teeth later, only the non-bonded portion of your teeth will be affected. That means you’ll have these beautiful white teeth and mismatched bonding. It will look strange.
The only way to get the bonding to match would be to replace the dental bonding and have the new bonding made to the whiter color. Doing the teeth whitening first prevents you from having to do the dental bonding twice.
Whitening Your Teeth in Just One Appointment
One thing you should be aware of is you don’t necessarily have to wait a long time for your teeth to get white. While take-home teeth whitening can take over a month to get your teeth as white as possible, with Zoom Whitening, you can get your teeth as white as possible in just one appointment.
Not all dentists have the technology so you may have to call around, but if time is what is bothering you, this would be an easy solution. Though, do give the color a few days to settle before having your dentist color match for the dental bonding procedure.
One word of caution. The dental bonding procedure is done freehand and requires an artistic dentist. Ask to see some before and after pictures of dental bonding cases your dentist has done to make sure he has the requisite skills and artistry.
This blog is brought to you by Hoffman Estates Dentist Dr. William Becker.