I asked my dentist to do a little dental bonding to fill in some small gaps between my teeth. They looked like tiny black triangles at the gum line and they were all I noticed when I’d look in the mirror. He assured me that dental bonding was the way to go and that they’d look beautiful when he was done. Much to my surprise, he didn’t even match the colors right. It looks like he took a tube of bathtub caulk and filled in the gaps with it. I told him right then and there that I wanted it fixed and he told me that it was just the lighting and that I was probably just used to seeing the dark spaces there. No. Then, I get home and realize I can’t even get floss in there to clean. I’m worried that this is going to be an issue going forward, on top of the aesthetic concerns. How do I go about having my dental bonding fixed?

Thank you,

Sarina in Tennessee

Dear Sarina,

The triangles you mentioned are usually caused by gum recession and it’s incredibly difficult to get dental bonding right in such a tight space. It is doable, but it requires an experienced dentist who understands form, shading, and the gums.

To address your concern about not being able to floss, that’s bad and needs to be repaired right away. If you can’t get floss in there, the area is going to become a food magnet and you won’t be able to get it out. Without a doubt, it will eventually turn into gum disease and/or tooth decay if it isn’t fixed. This is something that’s easy to correct. The dentist should have used something that’s similar to sandpaper, but intended for teeth, to smooth it down so that there was ample space there. This can be done at any time, so it’s an option for correction now.

The color can be tricky to match because your tooth naturally gets darker down there and there may be shade variations even within that small space. This can be matched, but the dentist has to have a keen eye for cosmetic dentistry in order to blend things properly. If the dental bonding looks bright white to you, he either picked the wrong shade or matched it to the top of the tooth. The only way to correct this is to have the work redone. If you have faith in him to get it right the second time around, you can give it another shot. Otherwise, you may want to find a more experienced dentist and have it done correctly.