Composite bonding aftercare: the best toothpaste, eating and coffee

The best toothpaste for composite bonding is a non-abrasive fluoride toothpaste. Avoid “whitening”, charcoal and gritty polishing pastes, which can dull the surface. At Toothi in Edgware every bonding fee includes a review appointment, and hygiene visits (£70, or £125 with Airflow) help keep bonding clean and glossy. Here’s how to look after it day to day.

Any gentle fluoride toothpaste you like using. Composite is softer than enamel, so abrasive pastes slowly scratch its polished surface, and a scratched surface picks up stain faster. We don’t recommend particular brands. Just check the label.

• ✓  Choose: a regular or sensitive fluoride toothpaste described as low-abrasion or suitable for daily use. The fluoride protects your own tooth around the bonding.
• ✓  Avoid: whitening toothpastes, charcoal pastes, “extra polishing” formulas and baking-soda pastes.
• ✓  Brush: with a soft or medium brush, or an electric toothbrush with gentle pressure, twice a day for two minutes.
• ✓  Clean between: floss or interdental brushes daily. The edges where bonding meets tooth are where stain and plaque collect first.
• ✓  Mouthwash: if you use one, go alcohol-free.

Yes. Composite is set hard with a curing light before you leave, so you can eat straight away. Bonding usually needs no injection, so there’s normally no numbness to wait for either. What changes is how you bite, not when.

• ✓  Don’t bite hard things with bonded front teeth. Cut up apples, crusty bread and ribs, and chew with your back teeth.
• ✓  Don’t use teeth as tools. No opening packets, biting nails, pens or ice.
• ✓  Wear a nightguard if you grind. Grinding is the most common reason bonding chips. A nightguard is £195 at Toothi.
• ✓  Wear a sports guard for contact sports.

Staining

Real patient results

Composite bonding results from our patients

Chips, gaps and worn edges rebuilt in tooth-coloured composite at Toothi in Edgware.

Photos of our own patients, shared with their consent. Individual results vary.

See more bonding before and afters →

Can you have coffee after composite bonding?

Yes, though it’s worth going easy on strongly coloured food and drink for the first day or two. After that, coffee in moderation is fine. Composite stains more easily than porcelain, so a few habits help.

• ✓  Rinse with water after coffee, tea, red wine, cola or curry.
• ✓  Use a straw for iced coffee and dark drinks if you like.
• ✓  Avoid smoking and vaping, which stain composite quickly.
• ✓  Whitening doesn’t change composite colour. Whiten before bonding, not after, or the bonding may look darker than your teeth. See can you whiten composite bonding? and teeth whitening at Toothi.

A review shortly after treatment, then your usual check-ups and hygiene visits. The review is included in every bonding price at Toothi. We check the edges and your bite and make any small tweaks. Regular hygiene visits remove surface stain and keep the gum line healthy.

Prices are fixed and taken from our fees page.

Small chips and dullness are usually easy to sort out. We can add composite, reshape it and re-polish without starting again. Give us a call if a piece breaks off, an edge feels sharp, or your bite feels different. Surface stain can often be polished away at a hygiene visit. Deeper discolouration may mean the bonding needs resurfacing.

For more, read composite bonding repair, how long composite bonding lasts, our composite bonding cost guide, or the main composite bonding page.