Removing Cosmetic Tooth Bonding

[dantocanada]

Hi all,

Many years ago I decided that rather than getting braces I would just do some cosmetic bonding on my top 4 front teeth to make them appear straighter. Ah, the magic of bonding. Well, it worked, but now that I have lower braces and am getting upper braces in December (primarily to fix my bite), my ortho has asked me to get my dentist to remove the bonding from the surface of the teeth so that they can be braced. He prefers my dentist to do it in case there is any aesthetic issues with my teeth after de-bonding, the dentist would be better equipped to handle it.

Anyways, so I called my dentist to book an appointment, and the receptionist told me I had to speak with him as I was making a strange request. So we spoke at length, and believe it or not, he feels that by removing the bonding (which has been on my teeth since 2001), there would be permanent damage to my teeth, and it will make my teeth look worse. I explained that it had to come off, because tooth #10 is built up about a mm with bonding material to make the tooth look flush with #9 and #7, and my ortho wants to bring that tooth forward.

I called the dentist who did the original bonding (a friend of the family, and also retired now), and he said that is ridiculous...it should come off no problem and there would be no damage to the teeth as the teeth were perfectly healthy (no cracks or chips) when initially bonded. Also, when I Google this topic, there seems to be a 50/50 split among the dental community as to whether bonding can be easily removed without tooth damage.

Has anyone here gone through this with removing tooth bonding and what were the results?

[Sparkle]

By 'bonding' do you mean veneers? I'm in the UK and I think it's the same thing only we call them veneers here. I have 2 missing lateral incisors and have had my canines built up to look like incisors with effectively white filling material which they call a veneer. I had this done for the first time around 1990 and it has been removed and re-done once only and that was around 2004. The teeth have to be roughened and filed down a little in order to do the veneers. I don't know exactly how much mine have been filed down but I hope it's not too much!! As I'm sure there is probably a limit as to how many times the veneers can be replaced and I'm fairly certain the teeth would need to be veneered and could not be left bare. I hope this helps, I notice your question was posted quite a while ago but as no one had replied I thought I would :)

[brooks]

Bonding and veneers are not the same thing. Veneers typically 'ruin' the tooth, while bonding is almost always easily removed and reversible. That is why a lot of dentists opt for bonding before or instead of veneers because it doesn't ruin the integrity of your existing tooth.

I know personally that after removal of braces I will be getting some bonding done to see if I would want veneers to make my front teeth longer/more rectangular. My dentist (a cosmetic dentist) recommended bonding specifically so that I have the option to change my mind and leave my current tooth structure in tact.

I would try to have a consult with a cosmetic dentist about this, as it goes further than the wheelhouse of general dentistry. Hope this helps!

[Sparkle]

Hi brooks, thanks for pointing that out, I wasn't aware of the difference but have now done a little research. There's also composite resin / composite veneers which I think is the same as 'bonding' then there's porcelain veneers, where the tooth requires more preparation / damage. There's pros & cons with both. I think if you can justify a genuine dental requirement for veneers then they can prove a life saver to people, but if it's for vanity sake to try and achieve 'perfection' then personally I would not go to such lengths, damaging my teeth to that extent in order to have veneers, but then it's each to their own! I'm really confused now as to whether I have veneers or bonding on my canines! I've always thought they were veneers (they look like veneers) but my dentist described it as white filling material. I will definitely check at my appmt next week!!

[sirwired]

I think they are used for different purposes. Bonding often works for "instant orthodontics" where they can be used to fill in gaps. For teeth that are already nice and straight, you might need to use a veneer to do things like getting rid of tetracycline stains.

[brooks]

Hey Sparkle. I am betting you have composite veneers. They're a little different than bonding, but same material. The easiest way for me to think of it is bonding is like those press on nails from a drugstore, and veneers are like going to a salon and having acrylic nails put on. Similar results, but very different process. Drugstore nails are temporary and when they come off you're back at square one, acrylic nails take a lot of prep work to the existing nail to sculpt the new one and when they come off your nail is worse than when you started. Same difference with bonding vs veneers

Hope that helps!

[dantocanada]

Just an update...my dentist wanted to refer me to a Prosthodontist to remove the bonding because he was worried he would damage my teeth. That same day I went for an Ortho appointment and told him what the dentist said. He was surprised that it would be such a big issue and decided right there and then to do it himself. And guess what...it came right off after a few minutes of grinding. No problem whatsoever.

I need a new dentist.

[Sparkle]

dantocanada - That's great news you have got it sorted but a surprise that your dentist didn't want to do it. When something like this happens it's hard not to lose confidence in their competence. Just out of interest, what is the condition of your teeth after the bonding was removed?

[dantocanada]

Teeth were fine. No damage at all. Looked just like they did when I had the bonding applied 14 years ago. I think the problem is simply that my dentist is getting old and its time for him to pack it in. About 2 years ago, he also replaced an old filling and inadvertently cracked the tooth, which caused me to need a root canal and a crown. So, now I'm really sure it's time to switch.

[spacey8008]

[quote=dantocanada post_id=456956 time=1412184465 user_id=23322]
Hi all,

Many years ago I decided that rather than getting braces I would just do some cosmetic bonding on my top 4 front teeth to make them appear straighter. Ah, the magic of bonding. Well, it worked, but now that I have lower braces and am getting upper braces in December (primarily to fix my bite), my ortho has asked me to get my dentist to remove the bonding from the surface of the teeth so that they can be braced. He prefers my dentist to do it in case there is any aesthetic issues with my teeth after de-bonding, the dentist would be better equipped to handle it.

Anyways, so I called my dentist to book an appointment, and the receptionist told me I had to speak with him as I was making a strange request. So we spoke at length, and believe it or not, he feels that by removing the bonding (which has been on my teeth since 2001), there would be permanent damage to my teeth, and it will make my teeth look worse. I explained that it had to come off, because tooth #10 is built up about a mm with bonding material to make the tooth look flush with #9 and #7, and my ortho wants to bring that tooth forward.

I called the dentist who did the original bonding (a friend of the family, and also retired now), and he said that is ridiculous...it should come off no problem and there would be no damage to the teeth as the teeth were perfectly healthy (no cracks or chips) when initially bonded. Also, when I Google this topic, there seems to be a 50/50 split among the dental community as to whether bonding can be easily removed without tooth damage.

Has anyone here gone through this with removing tooth bonding and what were the results?
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