Dental Bonding Won’t Stay On

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I had some mild fluorosis stains that I wanted to get rid of. My dentist suggested we do dental bonding. I was disappointed that the color didn’t match my teeth. Part of the reason I wanted to get rid of the fluorosis stains was because of the two tone color my teeth had. The bonding did not fix that. A few hours after they were placed, the bonding fell off. I went back in the next day and he suggested a get I night guard to go with them as well. I wasn’t sure what good that would do because they fell off during the day but went ahead and got one. I did let him know I was disappointed in the color so he added a layer beneath it to match the bonding. Again, the bonding fell off within a day. He told me when I called him again that they’re meant to be temporary, but he mentioned a few years not a few hours. What do I do?

Bethany

Dear Bethany,

I am sorry you are having to deal with this. Under normal circumstances, it is almost impossible to get a refund on cosmetic work, especially if the complaint is that it doesn’t match. This shouldn’t be the case, but it is. While I am sure you’ve been frustrated with the bonding falling off, this will actually work in your favor. A basic tenant of dental work is that it stays in your mouth. Because yours does not, you have some recourse.

Placing dental bonding is a very advanced cosmetic dentistry procedure. I believe your dentist is in over his head. The fact that you had to tell your dentist that the dental bonding did not match your teeth is a pretty big sign that he is not an expert cosmetic dentist. Getting the bonding to match your teeth takes more than slapping on an opaque layer. In fact, if you’re dealing with mild fluorosis stains, that should not have been necessary at all.

While the artistry is pretty challenging and requires some special colors and tints that your dentist may not have on hand if he does not do a lot of cosmetic work, the bonding process itself is not hard. Keeping the bonding on should be pretty basic. The first step would be to etch the tooth. If done correctly, the etching should give the tooth a frosty appearance. Then, the tooth will be rinsed and dried. Once that is done, a liquid bonding agent is applied and then a curing light will cure it. The composite is then placed over the bonding agent. This should be so secure that it has to be ground off. You should not need a night guard or anything else to keep it on.

Because your dentist is in over his head and the bonding is not staying on, my suggestion is that you ask for a refund and then have this done by another dentist who has more expertise with cosmetic work.

This blog is brought to you by Mount Dora Dentist Dr. Michelle Stillman.