Resin bonding Everything wears out, and white plastic fillings are no exception. As they age, white plastic fillings in front teeth absorb moisture, swell, and begin to leak.

The tight seal between the filling material and the natural tooth is what protects it from further decay. When this seal is lost, the filling no longer fully protects the tooth, and cavities can develop. When the fillings are small, we can replace them with new white plastic fillings. But sometimes the damage that results from worn fillings is more extensive.

When you bite together, the edges of your teeth are subjected to a tremendous amount of force. If you have a relatively large filling on a front tooth, biting pressure could cause a portion of the tooth to break away. To strengthen it and protect it from future damage, we may need to place a crown on your tooth, or restore it with a technique called bonding.

Bonding is a procedure in which we use tooth-colored resin to restore and reshape a damaged tooth. We can usually bond a tooth in one visit, because the resin is applied directly to your tooth and hardened with a harmless, high-intensity light.

A crown, on the other hand, takes at least two appointments to place, because it must be crafted in a dental laboratory. A crown adds more strength to the damaged tooth because it covers the tooth completely and causes the biting force to be evenly distributed. We'll usually recommend a crown if the tooth has been extensively damaged.