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Dental Bonding

Dental Bonding - Achieving a Flawless Smile

Imperfections such as chips, stains, or gaps can make a big difference in how you feel about your smile. Dental bonding is a simple, effective, and non-invasive solution that uses a tooth-colored resin to address minor cosmetic concerns and restore the natural beauty of your teeth and smile. Dental bonding can be used to correct:

  • Cracked or chipped teeth
  • Stubborn stains or discolorations that don’t respond to whitening treatments
  • Teeth that appear small, short, or uneven
  • Minor gaps or spacing problems

For over 30 years, Drs. Kristen Campbell and Donna Sparks have been transforming smiles in the Norman, Oklahoma, area with advanced cosmetic and restorative dental care. At Norman Smile Center, their expertise in dental bonding—combined with the use of composite resin and the Bioclear Matrix system—ensures natural-looking, beautiful results you’ll love.

With a keen eye for dental aesthetics and precision application techniques, Drs. Campbell and Sparks, along with their skilled team, deliver affordable and effective treatments that can correct imperfections and restore confidence in your smile. Discover how dental bonding at Norman Smile Center can help you achieve a stunning, radiant smile you can’t wait to share!

 

The Dental Bonding Process

While there are a variety of ways to repair minor imperfections in your smile, dental bonding is best for visible cracks or chips. With dental bonding, Dr. Campbell or Dr. Sparks applies a tooth-colored resin to the surface of the tooth, then smooths and reshapes it to help it blend in with the rest of the natural tooth as well as the adjacent teeth for a seamless finish. This also helps protect the tooth from further damage.

Dental bonding is a quick and convenient procedure that can often be completed in a single 30-60 minute visit, depending on the number of teeth being treated.


Here’s how the dental bonding process works:

  1. Color matching. The dentist will select a shade of resin that closely matches your natural teeth, ensuring the bonded tooth blends seamlessly with your smile.
  2. Tooth preparation. The surface of the tooth is gently “etched,” a process that roughens the enamel to help the bonding material adhere securely—similar to preparing wood before painting.
  3. Resin application. A putty-like composite resin is carefully applied to the tooth and sculpted into the ideal shape.
  4. Curing the resin. The resin is hardened using a special UV light, ensuring it bonds firmly to the tooth.
  5. Finishing touches. The hardened resin is smoothed, shaped, and polished to match the natural sheen and contour of your surrounding teeth.

 

The Bioclear Difference for Dental Bonding

With the Bioclear Matrix system for dental bonding, Dr. Campbell and Dr. Sparks can provide better, lasting dental bonding results with a more natural and consistent finish. With traditional dental bonding, composite resin is applied in layers. Bioclear features an injection overmolding technique, in which a clear infinity-edge Bioclear Matrix mold that mimics the natural contours of the teeth is placed around the tooth. Composite resin is then heated, flowed into the mold, and cured with a UV light, then polished to a very high shine. Not only does the heated composite create a single, monolithic fill that is harder and more structurally sound than layered composite alone, but it also has a smoother, more natural looking finish that is better shaped to match the tooth.

 

Other benefits of Bioclear include:

Increased durability. Traditional dental bonding is durable, and can last up to 10 years or more with proper care. Bioclear restorations are even more so, lasting 15-20 years or longer.

More natural finish. While even some of the most advanced composites can have a grainy or matte finish, the final polishing of Bioclear produces a reflective, slightly translucent “Rock Star Polish.” Traditional composite resin is polished after it has dried and hardened with a small sanding bit attached to a drill. Bioclear, however, is polished wet, using water and a special slurry made of safe, food-grade pumice. This both keeps the temperature low and maintains the integrity of the restoration.

Preservation of the natural tooth structure. Traditional restorations typically require some type of tooth preparation before they can be performed, such as removing enamel. With Bioclear, only accumulated biofilm–organic matter that collects on all teeth, even healthy ones–and any unhealthy tooth structure needs to be removed to ensure proper adherence of the composite resin to your enamel. In addition, thanks to the Bioclear Matrix, Bioclear restorations can start below the gumline, instead of at the edge like traditional restorations.

Extended applications. Because it is flowed in and preserves more of the natural tooth structure, Bioclear can address even more imperfections than traditional bonding, such as:

  • Filling in black triangles (triangle-shaped gaps created by receding gumlines)
  • Repairing chips or breaks without replacements or crowns and while leaving as much of the natural underlying tooth structure as possible
  • Improving tooth color
  • Evening out rough edges
  • Matching undersized teeth

Dental Bonding at Norman Smile Center

Dr. Campbell and Dr. Sparks of Norman Smile Center have spent their careers learning and mastering innovative dental techniques, technology, and procedures so they can provide their patients with the best care and experience possible. The Bioclear Matrix is just one of the progressive precision dentistry tools Drs. Campbell and Sparks use at Norman Smile Center to improve aesthetic and functional outcomes for pediatric, teen, and adult patients in and around the Norman area, and our clinic is proud to be at the forefront of new modalities that can deliver comprehensive services with consistent, reliable results. 


Find out if dental bonding with Bioclear is right for you, and schedule an appointment today.

Dental Bonding FAQs

Generally, bonding is the best choice for minor damage or small cosmetic issues such as closing black triangles or gaps between teeth, stained or discolored teeth and slight wear and tear of teeth, including chips or cracks.

Bonding, however, does have its limitations. The materials used are less durable than those used for crowns and veneers, so there is a risk of teeth becoming chipped or cracked again. Not everyone is a candidate for dental bonding. Schedule a visit today at Norman Smile Center for a cosmetic consultation.

Preparing for dental bonding is easy. Your dentist will start by selecting a shade of resin that most closely resembles the color of your teeth and then will apply the composite resin using a Bioclear Matrix to shape the tooth. The restoration is then polished smooth, creating a natural looking tooth.

You should care for your bonded teeth just like you do your natural teeth. This includes brushing and flossing daily, along with visiting your dentist for cleanings and checkups twice a year. While dental bonding is a durable solution that can last up to a decade or more with proper care, it’s worth noting that the bonding resin isn’t as strong as your natural tooth enamel. 

To keep your bonded teeth in great shape, it’s best to avoid or limit the following:

  • Using your teeth to open, break, or crack objects.
  • Drinking from metal straws.
  • Chewing on plastic items like pen caps.
  • Biting down on hard items such as ice cubes or hard candy.
  • Teeth whitening treatments, as whitening agents won’t change the color of the bonding resin and may create uneven coloring between your natural teeth and the bond.
  • Consuming dark or acidic beverages like coffee, tea, or red wine, which can stain the resin material.

If you grind or clench your teeth at night—a condition known as bruxism—ask your dentist about a night guard to protect your bonded teeth. Similarly, if you play contact sports or engage in activities that pose a risk of dental injury, wearing a mouthguard is a smart way to protect your restoration and natural teeth.

Dental bonding is typically a cosmetic procedure, but, in some cases, it can also be considered restorative, such as when it is used to repair chips and cracks in teeth or replace worn-down enamel. 

Dental bonding repairs and improves the appearance of teeth, and is ideal for:

  • Protecting exposed roots resulting from gum recession
  • Correcting discoloration or staining
  • Changing the shape of teeth, such as making them appear longer or more proportional to adjacent teeth
  • Repairing cracks and chips
  • Closing gaps between teeth
  • Preventing further damage by sealing damaged areas of the teeth from bacteria and debris and by strengthening teeth to prevent further chipping or cracking