For some reason, after the baby tooth fell out (upper front tooth to the right of my 2 front teeth, the adult tooth stopped developing and was smaller and misshapen compared to my other teeth. I hated smiling for pictures taken from that angle of my face so I would always try to turn toward the right and show off the normal looking teeth. It had been 3 years since I'd gone to the dentist for a check up because my dental insurance ran out when I graduated. On Friday morning, I called Orange Care Dental at 7:30am to see if there was any chance I could walk in and they asked if I'd like to come in at 8am or 11am so I scrambled out the door to get it over with. The paperwork was completed quickly and I think they put me in an exam chair about 10 mins later. My mouth was x-rayed and they took pictures of my teeth. I was certain I had cavities from the looks of the pictures and started worrying about how expensive this trip was going to be. The doctor efficiently examined me; no cavities, woohoo! I asked about having one of my front teeth bonded so it would look better and he was honest. I was informed that it can be done but it's better to get a veneer because of the overall better quality. It would look better, feel better, and last longer than bonding. He was super understanding when I said I wasn't sure if I could afford one right without insurance and said ok, I'll have them bring you a quote. My doctor's name was Dr. Chow (Chau? Chao?) I didn't catch his first name and it wasn't on the office's business card but he was very nice. After he left I had to wait about 25-30 minutes before one of the front office ladies came over. I was close enough to hear that it had gotten busy but it did get a little uncomfortable sitting in the chair. Gloria was very apologetic about the delay and proceeded to tell me how much I would have to pay. She showed me a list of things I could get done that day and told me that each price was crossed out with a new number next to it because of the new patient deals and I didn't have coverage, I kind of wish I got a copy of that list just to stare at it in awe LOL. I'm guessing that adding bonding to a tooth is part of the veneer process because she said she could put a note in my file to include credit toward a veneer so it would only cost me $950 later. For what they called a 4 surface bonding treatment, the cost of $325 was written on the paper I was shown. The original price for someone with insurance looked like $780 but I couldn't see very well being in the chair, nearsighted (optometrist is next on my to-do list), and with her two feet away. From what I understand about how insurance works, I paid a little more than someone who has it. They put numbing cream above the tooth and my tongue accidentally touched it lol. Then I was given the numbing shot. A piece of cotton was stuffed under my lip to raise it above the tooth and he began working in it. There was filing with an electric filer to roughen the enamel and then he added the composite to the top, sides, and a little bit on the back. I was given a mirror to see how I liked the shape and then some more filing was done to smooth out the surface. It was hard to tell how thick it was since I was numb (I couldn't even flare my right nostril hahaha) but it didn't look thick. It looks AWESOME. I was numbed before he began so it was a little hard to feel the new tooth but he did stop several times to ask if I was ok with the shape and it it felt rough at all....little hard to determine since my tongue touched some of the numbing cream before the numbing shot. I got there at 8:05am and left by 11:30am! I was still numb when I left so it wasn't for another couple of hours that I noticed my bonded tooth felt somewhat thick at the gum line. It felt weird under my lip; I was expecting the bottom of the tooth to touch because my other teeth do (overbite) so no issues with the bottom. My nail was able to catch the top of tooth where the bonding met enamel. I decided to just stop by a day later since it was on my way to my list of errands for the day. When I got there, I explained the issue and was seated in an exam chair after a few minutes. This chair had a tv on the wall and ceiling, super cool because I got to enjoy a Minions movie while I waited for the doctor to finish with another patient. Same doctor helped me get my tooth smoothed out and then I was on my way! The tooth feels much better, still getting used to a bigger tooth, but still great! The color matches the incisor pretty well but it's a little darker than the two front teeth. All my research and even the doctor said that composite bonding can only get so close to a match and that it would discolor if I wasn't careful about what I consumed. The stuff cannot be bleached, maybe cleaned up a little with special maintenance toothpaste. That's why they recommend a veneer. I'm really glad to have this done, it'll hold me over until I can afford a veneer. Eating is still a little weird but smiling is so much easier now! I'm in the process of signing up for alignment trays to fix the gap between my front teeth and think I will go for the veneer once it's been corrected. Updated on 3 Feb 2017: Here is the before and after picture and all the cool stuff they sent home with me. I meant to upload this earlier while writing the review on another device but I didn't have the pic on that one. The after picture was right after the first visit. There's a noticeable visible difference compared to after they smoothed the front down for me. It just feels better to me.
