Does the current bonding stain easily?

Hello Melissa,Composite bonding should be thought of as a temporary fix when being used cosmetically on your front teeth. Bonding stains easily and chips easily as well.  I would highly recommend porcelain veneers rather than bonding. Porcelain veneers last 20 years or more and some offices offer a warranty.  I make sure to warranty all of my veneers for 10 years from the date that they are placed, even though, I expect them to last 20-30 years before the patient needs to have them redone. The only reason that I don't warranty my work for 20 years is because it is virtually impossible to determine how well a person will take care for their teeth over a 20 year period of time. Consult with an experienced cosmetic dentist to determine your options. Be sure to look at before and after photos when choosing your dentist. This will give you a pretty accurate idea of how your teeth will look. Good luck and I hope this info helps you. Follow me if you have more questions.Sarah Thompson, DMDSt. Louis, MO Area (O'Fallon, IL)RealSelf100

Hello Melissalee19,Bonding is a procedure that is going to have a shorter life span than veneers.  Think of bonding as having a 5-10 year lifespan and veneers being 20+ years.  Bonding material is a matrix of plastic and glass particles and these tiny pieces of glass slowly come out through normal functions of eating and brushing the teeth.  This leaves tiny holes in the surface that collect stains which can't be removed. The plastic portion also naturally discolors over time. If it is placed on the top edge of incisors it usually wears and chips from normal eating and biting.  Porcelain veneers are much stronger and have an extremely durable, polished surface which resists discoloring and chipping.  I strongly recommend all patients with either bonding or veneers on front teeth to wear a nightguard to prevent wear and breakage from grinding which occurs during sleep in a high percentage of people.  The nightguard would also act as your upper retainer which all orthodontic patients should wear every night.  Whitening will not whiten the bonding material, so after it discolors your teeth would whiten leaving the composite bonding areas looking even darker than before you whitened. So unfortunately, your teeth would look splotchy, and you would want to do the bonding again.  After redoing the bonding on a more frequent basis due to the shorter life span, you will spend the same or more as veneers but spend more time at the dentist and have a restoration that is not as nice as veneers.  I hope this provides you the answers you were looking for.Douglas Jopling, DDSDallas, TX area

If you are thinking of whitening make sure to do so before any dental work, this way your dentist can match the tooth shade you want.  Unfortunately your bonding will not whiten when you bleach the teeth.  Dental bonding done well and with a high polish will help to minimize staining but eventually all bonding will stain.  Bonding is something that is easy to replace and redo in the future and is painless.