Veneers and cosmetic dental bonding are two of the most popular elective treatments in the world. They have helped countless patients achieve beautiful, functional smiles relatively quickly, including many of your favorite celebrities. Both offer similar benefits, so this can make choosing between them a little tricky. Which one would be best for your particular situation? Thankfully, with a little knowledge and input from your cosmetic dentist in Portland, taking the first step toward your ideal smile should be nice and easy.

Veneers & Dental Bonding: The Basics

The veneers procedure involves placing very thin shells of dental porcelain on the front sides of the teeth to change their appearance. On the other hand, dental bonding consists of the dentist applying a color-matched composite resin to the enamel that allows them to make relatively minor changes to the overall shape of the tooth.  

Despite using different methods, both of these treatments can provide many benefits, including:

• Covering stains that do not respond well to professional teeth whitening
• Making chipped, cracked, or broken teeth look complete again
• Creating a more uniform and attractive smile
• Closing small gaps
• Making undersized or oddly-shaped teeth match the rest of the smile

Which Treatment is Right For You?

In general, veneers can make more dramatic changes to the smile compared to bonding. If you are hoping to cover multiple flaws or even dramatically transform your appearance, veneers are usually the right choice. What is important to remember is that the procedure can take 2-3 appointments to complete, which will include capturing detailed impressions of your teeth, removing a small amount of enamel to make room for the veneers, and eventually placing the veneers once they have been sent back from the lab (you will wear temporary veneers between appointments).

Dental bonding can make smaller changes much more quickly—often, the procedure only requires a single appointment. It is well-suited for taking care of minor stains, chips, and cracks.

While veneers tend to be more expensive than bonding, the results can be expected to last much longer. On average, veneers have a lifespan of multiple decades, while bonding usually needs to be replaced after 10 years.

How Veneers & Bonding Can Help with TMJ Pain

What many patients don’t realize is that these cosmetic procedures can also help with TMJ-related discomfort. If you suffer from chronic jaw pain, headaches, or teeth grinding, the cause may be a misaligned bite that is forcing your chewing muscles to overwork and create lactic acid. A bad bite can stem from, or be created by, cracked, broken, or worn-down teeth. Veneers and bonding can both be used to correct imbalances in the bite, allowing strained muscles to relax while also enhancing the appearance of the smile. Determining which one would be right for you should only be done after precise measurements have been taken of your bite to figure out exactly which adjustments are needed. Once this is done, your TMJ dentist can point you in the right direction.

At Advanced Dental Arts NW, we have used veneers and dental bonding to help countless patients achieve the attractive, functional, and pain-free smiles they desire. Our team can help you decide between these two treatments at an in-person consultation and then provide personalized care to guarantee the perfect result.

About the Author

Dr. Russ Teasdale is a highly respected cosmetic and TMJ dentist in Portland who has been practicing since 1981. In addition to offering several aesthetic dental services, including veneers and bonding, he is also the ONLY dentist in the area certified to provide DTR therapy to relieve jaw pain and headaches connected to TMJ/TMD. To learn more about these procedures and what Dr. Teasdale could do for you, contact ADANW today to schedule an appointment.