Caring for Bonding

Your First Few Days

There's no wait before you eat: the curing light sets each layer hard within seconds. Your tongue will notice the new edges at once, and they can feel bulky for a few days until you're used to them.

For the first 48 hours, go carefully with anything that would leave a mark on a white shirt: think curry, beetroot, red wine and black coffee. If your bite feels off, with the back teeth not quite meeting or one front tooth landing first, call us rather than waiting to see. A tooth that sits slightly high can ache, and it's more likely to chip. At your review about two weeks later we fine-tune the bite and finish with a polish.

An Everyday Routine

• Brush twice a day using a soft or medium brush, never a hard one. An electric brush is fine: rest it on the teeth and let the head do the work rather than pressing.
• Use a low-abrasion fluoride toothpaste. Avoid whitening and charcoal toothpastes, because their grit scratches the composite's polish, leaving it dull and quicker to stain.
• Clean between teeth daily with floss or interdental brushes. Slide floss out to the side rather than pulling up, so it doesn't snag on a bonded edge.
• Rinse with water after tea, coffee or wine so the colour doesn't sit on the surface.
• Keep up your dental examinations and hygiene appointments.

You don't need any special products. Bonding that still looks good after five years nearly always belongs to someone with a plain, consistent routine.

Keeping Stain at Bay

Like natural enamel, composite is a little porous, more so than porcelain, so it takes up colour a bit more readily. Tea, coffee, red wine, cola, curry, turmeric and berries will all mark it gradually. Smoking does the most damage and can turn bonding noticeably yellow within months.

You don't have to give up coffee. Rinse with water afterwards, drink cold dark drinks through a straw, and let your hygiene appointments handle the rest. A professional polish removes surface stain, and Airflow clears it gently with a fine jet of warm water, air and powder. When stain has worked into the margin between composite and tooth, or won't polish away, the bonding usually needs refreshing.

Habits That Chip Composite

Bonding copes well with ordinary chewing, but its fine edges dislike a sudden force on one spot. Chips usually come from:

• Biting nails, pen tops or pencils
• Crunching ice or hard sweets
• Opening packets, tape or labels with your teeth
• Sinking your front teeth into a whole apple, a crusty roll or a toffee apple

Slice hard food and chew it on your side teeth. For football, rugby, hockey or any contact sport, wear a made-to-measure sports guard (£190), which protects both the bonding and the teeth beneath it.

Night Guards and Retainers

Clenching and grinding during sleep wear down and chip composite faster than anything you do in the day. A night guard absorbs that force, and for anyone who grinds it does more than anything else to extend the life of bonding. Clues that you grind include a tight jaw on waking, headaches around the temples, flattened edges or a partner who can hear it. There's more in our teeth grinding guide.

If your teeth were straightened before the bonding, your retainer matters as well. Teeth move after orthodontic treatment, and bonding shaped for one position won't look right in another. Our Invisalign packages include Vivera retainers, and wearing them overnight protects the teeth and the bonding alike. If you need a new appliance, we can make a custom night guard (£210) or a clear Essix retainer (£214 per arch), and we'll recommend whichever suits you.

Polishing at Hygiene Appointments

Polishing restores the gloss and keeps bonding looking fresh. While she polishes, Fiona Dyer, our hygienist, also looks over the edges for early wear, so small issues are picked up before you'd notice them. Let her know which teeth are bonded: composite needs a fine paste and soft polishing cups, because a coarser paste meant for natural enamel can dull it.

A 30-minute hygiene appointment is £70, or £100 with Airflow, and both are part of our dental plans. Depending on your gums, most people come every three to six months.

When an Edge Chips

Chips happen, and fixing them is usually simple. In most cases we add new composite and blend it in at one short visit, without redoing the whole tooth. Keep any broken piece, don't bite on that tooth and contact us. If you WhatsApp a photo to 07904 195925, we can book an appointment of the right length.

Don't try to smooth a rough edge with a nail file. If it's rubbing your lip, a little dental or orthodontic wax from a chemist will cover it until we see you. If the tooth is painful rather than simply sharp, phone 01555 662441 and we'll find you a time.

Signs Your Bonding Needs a Refresh

Three to five years is typical before bonding wants attention, and careful owners often go beyond that. Look out for a surface that stays matt even after polishing, stain that won't lift, a brown line along the margin, or an edge that has worn short or chipped repeatedly. Refreshing usually means re-polishing or adding a new outer layer, not rebuilding from scratch.

If you want whiter teeth at the same time, whiten first. Composite won't lighten, so we lighten your natural teeth and then match the refreshed bonding to them. The timing is explained in our whitening before bonding guide, and at your dental examinations we'll let you know when a refresh is worthwhile.

Questions

This guide is general information, not a diagnosis. A dentist needs to examine you to say what is right for your teeth.