Page 32 - Amazing Smiles

CHAPTER THREE figure 27
figure 28
COSMETIC DENTAL PROCEDURES

Various dental materials are
used during cosmetic dental
procedures to restore and
replace teeth. These materials,
along with the way they are
used, have a profound affect
on the way a smile ultimately
looks. The most dramatic
advance in dental materials
came when cosmetic dentists started using a material
referred to as bonding, more technically known as
composite resins. This material brought modern
cosmetic dentistry into the forefront of today’s
dental care. Bonding is used in a putty or liquid
form to cover, repair, extend or replace tooth
surfaces. (figure27)

The tooth receiving the bonding material is
etched with a mild acid, making it more porous.
The bonding composite resin is applied, fused and
hardened with a light gun. Finally, the bonded
material is shaped, adjusted and polished. Bonded
composite resins are excellent material for filling
small caries (cavities) on biting surfaces and
between teeth and for repairs at the gum line.
Bonding can close small gaps between teeth.
However, it does not hold up well when used to fill
large holes in teeth on biting surfaces or repairing
the incisal edges of teeth.

The first real public awareness of modern
cosmetic dentistry occurred when cosmetic dentists
began performing complete smile makeovers. They

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