Is It Possible to Have Bonding on Front Tooth Without Roughening It with Drilling Machine?

The strength of the material keeping the composite stuck to the tooth is limited, and both mechanical stresses and chemical strength needs to be considered.  The vast majority of the solutions require roughening the tooth surface to gain enough strength so the composite will stay put.

Generally speaking, bonding is very conservative.  Without seeing the tooth, it is hard to speculate.  However, placing a small bevel on the enamel is usually all that is needed as far as tooth preparation.  Sometimes there is already enough of a break that air abrasion can be used.  If possible, I prefer not to bond the entire tooth but to skillfully blend the shades and color of the bonding to match the remaining tooth.  Also, if the bevel is minimal usually no anesthesia is necessary.

Bonding can look beautiful when skillfully done.

 

In order for the bonding technique to be successful, the tooth surface has to be clean and free of any potential contaminants.  Once the tooth is clean, a mild acid is applied to the surface that will have bonding apllied so that the material will adhere.

Dentists will often use a drill to be certain that the surface is clean, but there is no need to drill away any tooth structure.  The goal of bonding is to be as conservative as possible, and to leave as much of the existing tooth structure in tact as possible.

Hope this was helpful

Dr Champagne

Sometimes patients ask dentists to do things or not do things which have a negative impact on the outcome of the procedure. There are a couple of good reasons for roughening or beveling the tooth. One reason is there is a stronger bond when you spread the bonded surface over more area and the area has been lightly prepped. Another good reason is the dentist can make interface between the tooth and the bonding material disappear so it looks like a natural tooth....... not a filling on a tooth. In the end it depends on how the patient wants the final restoration to look and if the dentist is willing to compromise his or her artistic results.

The research has shown that the best bonds to enamel are when the enamel is slightly roughened (prepped) versus enamel that is not roughened (unprepped).  Your dentist suggested that technique so that the situation for the best enamel bond can be created.  Also, this will help to blend the material so that there is no visible distinction between the tooth and the bonded composite material.  The minimal amount of roughened enamel will help in the long term.  Also, roughening the enamel should not be painful, but you will sense some vibration.