What is composite bonding?
Composite bonding repairs chips, cracks, stains, small gaps and worn edges with tooth-coloured resin. It’s a little like a cross between a filling and a veneer. It suits healthy teeth that are chipped, stained or uneven. The resin is added to your tooth in layers, shaped by hand and hardened with a light.
Nothing is made in a lab, so it’s usually done in one visit. Little or no enamel is removed. At our Lewisham practice, near Greenwich and Blackheath, bonding is carried out by Barbara Dodd.
Why choose composite bonding?
- It’s usually finished in a single appointment.
- Little or no enamel is removed, so it’s minimally invasive.
- Most patients don’t need an injection.
- The resin is shaded and layered to blend in with your own teeth.
- It usually costs less than porcelain veneers or crowns.
Bonding won’t whiten with your teeth. If you’d like whiter teeth, have teeth whitening first, so your bonding can be matched to your new shade. For bigger changes, compare teeth straightening, veneers and crowns.
How composite bonding works
Consultation and shade
We check your teeth and gums and talk about what you’d like to change. We match the resin to the colour of your own teeth.
Preparing the tooth
We lightly roughen the surface and apply a gel and bonding liquid, so the resin grips your tooth. You usually won’t need an anaesthetic.
Building up the resin
The resin is a paste. We add it in thin layers and sculpt it to shape, copying the depth of colour of natural teeth. A curing light hardens each layer.
Polishing
We shape and polish the bonding to match your teeth, and check your bite so nothing catches when you chew. You can eat and carry on with your day straight away.
Composite bonding at SmileUp
- Bonding by Barbara Dodd, a general dentist with a special interest in cosmetic dentistry
- Bonding, veneers and whitening under one roof, so you can compare options
- Usually finished in one visit
- Open six days · Mon, Tue until 7:30pm
Watch
How much does it cost?
Your dentist confirms the exact cost in a written plan before any treatment starts.
| Composite bonding | from £330 |
Representative example: cash price £1,595, amount of credit £1,595, first payment of £33.36 taken upfront then 59 monthly payments of £33.21, total cost of credit £397.75, total amount payable £1,992.75 over 60 months, rate of interest 9.9% p.a. fixed. Representative 9.9% APR. SmileUp Limited is a credit broker, not a lender (FRN 727371). Finance provided by Tabeo Finance Limited (FRN 777539). Credit subject to status, UK residents 18+.