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Bonding, Veneers, and Crowns

Bonding, Veneers, and Crowns Decatur, IL

Your smile is one of your most important features. Dentistry is continually evolving, and with a variety of cosmetic treatment options, achieving a beautiful, healthy, aesthetically pleasing smile is made easy for patients of all ages. There are many different procedures and materials available to give you a more beautiful smile. Read on to learn more about a few of the most common ways we can transform your smile.

Dental Bonding

Bonding allows your Decatur, IL dentist to effectively correct a variety of problems, from color to shape, in a conservative manner.  Bonding can last for several years and is done during one appointment. Bonding is less expensive than other cosmetic treatments and usually can be completed in one visit to our office. However, dental bonding can stain and is easier to break than other treatments such as porcelain veneers. If it does break or chip, tell your Decatur dentist. The bonding generally can be easily patched or repaired in one visit.

Porcelain Veneers

Porcelain veneers or facings are made in a laboratory, involve more than one visit, but are exceptionally esthetic.  A small amount of enamel is removed to prepare the surface of the tooth so that the laminate (also known as a veneer) can adhere.  One of the greatest advantages of veneers is that they last much longer and have excellent color stability when compared to bonding.  Veneers are placed on teeth to change the color, shape, or size of teeth and to close small gaps and spaces when the existing tooth has little or no filling material or decay.

Dental Crowns

Crowns are a cosmetic restoration used to strengthen a tooth or improve its shape. Crowns (formerly called caps) are most often used when the tooth has extensive decay, large fillings, cracks, or developmental defects. When more conservative measures will not be effective or long lasting, crowns are the logical alternative.

Crowns are "cemented" onto an existing tooth and fully cover the portion of your tooth above the gum line. In effect, the crown becomes your tooth's new outer surface. Crowns can be made of porcelain, metal, or both. Porcelain crowns are most often preferred because they mimic the translucency of natural teeth and are very strong.

Crowns have the longest life expectancy of all the possible cosmetic restorations, but they are also the most time consuming to prepare. We would be glad to consult with you to recommend what restorative procedures would best suit your needs and give you the smile you have always wanted.