Composite bonding is a cosmetic treatment in which your dentist applies a tooth-coloured resin (the same material used in white fillings) directly to the tooth surface. The resin is shaped, hardened with a curing light, and polished to blend with your natural teeth.
Because the resin bonds directly to the enamel, very little or no preparation is needed. Treatment is typically completed in one appointment per tooth, with no laboratory wait.

• Often completed in a single visit, with no laboratory wait
• Minimally invasive – little or no natural tooth structure is removed
• Reversible – can be adjusted, repaired, or removed in future
• More affordable than veneers or crowns
• Tooth-coloured resin shaded to match your natural teeth

With good aftercare, composite bonding typically lasts five to seven years, sometimes longer. Lifespan depends on:
• Your bite – heavy grinding or clenching can chip the bonding (a nightguard may be recommended)
• Diet – very hard foods (ice, hard sweets) can chip or fracture composite
• Oral hygiene – good brushing and regular hygiene visits help the bonding last
• Staining habits – composite can pick up colour from coffee, red wine, and tobacco over time
Bonding can be polished, repaired, or refurbished as needed – it does not all have to be replaced at once.

Both are cosmetic treatments for the front teeth, but they suit different situations:
• Composite bonding is applied directly in the chair, usually in one visit. It is more affordable, more reversible, and easier to repair, but typically lasts five to seven years.
• Porcelain veneers are made in a laboratory from custom-made shells. They typically last ten to fifteen years or more, look more naturally luminous, and resist staining better – but they require some preparation of the natural tooth, cost more, and cannot be reversed.
We will recommend honestly at your consultation – if veneers are not the right option for you, we will say so, and vice versa.