Tag: Resin bonding

  • Resin Fillings, Tooth Bleaching

    Resin Fillings, Tooth Bleaching

      This patient had white resin fillings placed years ago, and had since decided to whiten her teeth.  The whitening effect on the enamel of her teeth had a tremendous impact – however, in contrast, this tooth whitening made the original bright, opaque color of the fillings stand out in a negative way. The patient…

  • Braces and Resin Bonding

    Braces and Resin Bonding

    Successful adult improves confidence through aesthetic dentistry! As a consultant to big financial firms, this patient was aware that a powerful image was important to portray. However, she felt limited by having never lost the upper baby-teeth canines. The proportion between her teeth and lips was not balanced. She did not realize that the two…

  • Myth about most “metal-free” dental crowns

    Myth about most “metal-free” dental crowns

    As a restorative dentist, I place equal value on predictability, longevity, comfort, biocompatibility, and aesthetics.  One soap box I don’t mind stepping on is the busting down the metal-free myth about the more popular new ceramic crown options. The two most popular types of all-ceramic crowns for back teeth are made from aluminum oxide and…

  • Accidental fork bite threatens lower teeth

    Accidental fork bite threatens lower teeth

    This lovely 90-year-old patient has kept most of her teeth her whole life. She flosses twice daily and uses fluoride every night! One day at a luncheon with friends, she accidentally bit a salad fork, and felt two of her lower front teeth become rather loose and painful to the touch.       After…

  • Early decay visible with enhanced Digital X-rays

    Early decay visible with enhanced Digital X-rays

    Conventional film X-rays would require chemical processing and did not have the capability of changing contrast and gain. With digital X-rays, we can see the earliest of decays, and thus treat decay conservatively.     This patient was seen in our hygiene department for routine cleaning and check-up.  The ultra low-radiation exposures did not initially…

  • Decay under amalgam filling is typical

    Decay under amalgam filling is typical

          General dentistry in the United States has been trending toward the discontinued use of silver-mercury alloy fillings, aka, amalgams. My own preference for tooth-colored resins is for several reasons, the most obvious being that as an aesthetic dentist, I like teeth to look like teeth.  Additionally, resin is not affected by temperature…

  • White dental fillings less sensitive when restored under rubber dam

    White dental fillings less sensitive when restored under rubber dam

          One of the most challenging types of  “simple dentistry” is to accomplish a direct resin restoration (aka, white filling) that looks good, functions well, and seals out bacteria from re-entering the side of the tooth.   Only a few years , which had been somewhat sensitive since being placed.  An X-ray of the…

  • Porcelain Veneer vs Bonding

    Porcelain Veneer vs Bonding

    Porcelain veneer vs bonding: Qualities to consider in decision making process This patient had chipped the front left tooth playing sports as a child.  Previously, it was conservatively repaired with resin bonding (tooth-colored plastic filling material) which had discolored, and to the patient’s disappointment, three times before it had broken under the weight of his bite. A…