Composite bonding shades and styles explained

Composite bonding shades are chosen to blend with your natural teeth, not picked from a menu of the whitest options. At Toothi in Edgware, every bonding price, from £195 per tooth, includes a shade match, and we usually suggest whitening first, because composite doesn’t whiten afterwards. We’re aiming for bonding that looks like your own teeth on a good day.

Your dentist compares small samples of composite against your teeth in natural light, and often places a test dab directly on the tooth to see how it looks. Natural teeth aren’t one flat colour, so we pick a shade that suits your teeth as a whole rather than matching a single swatch.

Teeth are usually a little warmer and more opaque near the gum and more translucent at the biting edge. Good bonding copies that by layering different composites, so it catches the light the way enamel does.

• ✓  Hue and value. The underlying colour of the tooth and how bright it looks.
• ✓  Translucency. How much light passes through the edges.
• ✓  Surface texture. Natural teeth have fine ridges that affect how shiny they look.
• ✓  Your face. Skin tone and lip colour change how bright teeth appear.

Yes. Dentists use a shade guide, a set of tooth-shaped tabs arranged from warmer, more yellow-brown shades to lighter, brighter ones, along with bleach shades for teeth that have been whitened. Each composite brand has its own matching shades.

The chart is only a starting point. Screens and photos change colours, so a chart you see online isn’t a reliable way to choose. What matters is the shade that looks right in person, against your own teeth, in daylight.

Usually, yes. Whitening lightens natural enamel but does nothing to composite. If you bond first and whiten later, the bonding can end up darker than the teeth around it.

After whitening, your tooth colour needs time to settle before we choose the final shade, and the bond itself tends to be stronger once the teeth have recovered. We’ll tell you how long to wait. Read more on teeth whitening in Edgware.

Style is about shape, edges and surface as much as colour. We talk through the look you want with photos at your consultation, then plan bonding that suits your face and bite.

• ✓  Natural. Subtle texture, soft translucent edges and a shade that blends in. Most people won’t know you’ve had anything done.
• ✓  Bright natural. A slightly lighter shade, usually after whitening, while keeping natural shape and translucency.
• ✓  Edge-only. Small additions to chipped or uneven edges. See edge bonding.
• ✓  Full-coverage. Composite covering the front surface of the tooth to change shape and colour more. See composite veneers.

We’ll tell you straight if a very white shade is likely to look artificial on your teeth. Bonding that’s much brighter than your natural teeth tends to look flat and opaque, which isn’t what most people are after.

Shade matching isn’t an extra. Every bonding price at Toothi includes the consultation, shade match, treatment and a review appointment. We recommend whitening first; that’s priced separately.

Prices are fixed and taken from our fees page. More detail in composite bonding cost.

Composite can pick up surface staining over time, especially from coffee, tea, red wine and smoking. Regular hygiene visits and a polish keep it looking fresh. If the colour no longer suits you, the bonding can be polished, refreshed or re-layered.

See composite bonding repair for maintenance and stain removal, and how long composite bonding lasts.