Key points in brief

• Treatment before bonding or veneers starts with a check-up, X-rays if clinically indicated, and professional teeth cleaning. Next, tooth decay and gum inflammation are treated, and only after that does the dentist change the colour and shape of your teeth.
• If your teeth and gums are healthy, 1–2 visits are often enough. With gum inflammation and a few cavities, preparation usually takes a few weeks, and with periodontitis, an advanced form of gum disease, a few months.
• Whitening, if you are planning it, is done after decay and gum problems have been treated. Bonding or veneers are usually done 2–3 weeks after whitening, once the colour has settled.
• After gum treatment, the edge of the gum may recede slightly. With veneers or bonding done earlier, a strip of tooth in a different colour could then become exposed, which is why the procedure is planned once the gums have healed.

Where preparation for veneers and bonding starts

Preparation for veneers and bonding starts with an examination of your teeth and gums and with X-rays if the dentist identifies a clinical need. In bonding, the dentist shapes the teeth with composite, a tooth-coloured resin. A veneer is a thin shell, most often made of porcelain, that is bonded to the front surface of the tooth.

The dentist looks for cavities, including those between the teeth, which often show up only on an X-ray. They examine the gums with a thin probe, measuring how deep the gap between the gum and the tooth is. A gap that has been deepened by inflammation is called a pocket. The dentist also checks whether any tooth is loose, because looseness can be a sign of periodontitis.

Toothache, a swollen gum or pus next to a tooth take priority over any aesthetic plan. These problems are treated straight away, and the conversation about how your teeth look comes later. If the swelling spreads to your cheek or you develop a fever, see a dentist the same day, even if that means going to an out-of-hours dental service. If you find it hard to speak, swallow, breathe or open your mouth, immediately call 112 or go to a hospital emergency department (SOR).

What you can check before your first aesthetic appointment

Before your first visit, check five things and mention them to the dentist at the start of the appointment:

• whether your gums bleed, even slightly, when you brush or floss
• whether any tooth reacts to cold or to sweet things, or hurts when you bite
• whether there is a dark line at the edges of old fillings, or whether food gets caught there
• whether any tooth is noticeably darker than the teeth next to it
• when you last had a check-up and whether you have X-rays of your teeth

Bleeding when you brush is the most common sign of gum inflammation. When the gums bleed, preparation usually starts with treating them. Also tell the dentist which medicines you take regularly, because some of them dry the mouth, and decay develops more easily in a dry mouth.

How long does treatment before bonding or veneers take, and what are its stages?

Treatment before bonding or veneers usually takes anything from 1–2 visits to a few months, depending on what you come in with. If your teeth and gums are healthy, a check-up with X-rays and professional cleaning are often enough. When gum inflammation and a few cavities need treating, preparation usually takes a few weeks.

With periodontitis, the advanced form of gum disease, you also need to wait for the pockets to heal and come back for a follow-up visit, so preparation is more likely to take a few months. Whitening, if it is part of the plan, adds a few more weeks, including the break before bonding or veneers. The time the dentist needs to design and carry out the bonding or veneers themselves comes on top of that. Including the procedure itself, the whole process usually has five stages.

Stage	What happens	When you can move on
1. Check-up and X-rays if clinically indicated	The dentist assesses cavities, the gums, old fillings and the condition of the nerves in the teeth. They decide what needs treating and in what order.	After one, sometimes two visits, once the full picture is known.
2. Professional cleaning and gum treatment	The dentist or hygienist removes tartar and deposits and shows you how to clean the spaces between your teeth. If there are pockets, the dentist also cleans the teeth below the gum.	When the gums stop bleeding. After pocket treatment, the result is usually assessed after about 3 months.
3. Treating decay and its causes	The dentist fills cavities, replaces leaking fillings and, if needed, carries out root canal treatment. You change the habits that encourage decay.	When there is no active decay and the treated teeth do not hurt. This stage often runs alongside gum healing.
4. Whitening, if it is planned	The teeth are lightened at the practice or at home with trays. Old fillings and crowns do not get lighter along with them.	When the colour has settled and the break needed before bonding or veneers has passed.
5. Bonding or veneers	The dentist designs the shape and colour, often checks the design in your mouth, and then carries out the bonding or veneers.	After the procedure, regular check-ups and professional cleaning continue.

Why the gums need to heal before veneers and bonding

If a veneer or bonding is done while the gums are inflamed, a strip of tooth in a different colour may become visible at the gum once they have healed. An inflamed gum is swollen and bleeds easily. After treatment the swelling goes down, and the edge of the gum may move slightly towards the root.

It cannot be predicted in advance how far the gum will recede after treatment - in some people hardly at all, in others more noticeably. It may recede more after treatment of deep pockets than when only the gums were inflamed. So the dentist assesses the gum at a follow-up visit and only then plans the length and shape of the veneers.

Gum inflammation alone, without bone loss around the teeth, usually clears up within a few weeks of professional teeth cleaning, if you also clean your teeth more carefully every day. In people who smoke, the gum may bleed less despite inflammation, so the absence of bleeding alone does not always mean that the gum is healthy.

Periodontitis goes deeper. It destroys the fibres and the bone that hold the tooth in place. In treatment, the dentist mainly cleans the pockets below the gum, usually under local anaesthetic. The result is assessed only once the tissues have healed, usually after about 3 months.

If deep pockets remain, the dentist may suggest a further stage of treatment, sometimes a surgical procedure. With periodontitis, veneers and bonding are planned only once treatment has been completed. After periodontal treatment, follow-up visits with professional cleaning every few months also continue.

Gum inflammation is also encouraged by uneven or leaking edges of old fillings and crowns, where dental plaque collects. Next to fillings and crowns, the gum bleeds more often than next to healthy tooth surfaces. So the dentist corrects uneven edges as early as the professional cleaning stage. What depends on you is cleaning between your teeth every day with floss or interdental brushes, because without it the inflammation comes back.

Tooth decay and old fillings before bonding or veneers

Active decay, meaning decay that is progressing, is treated before any aesthetic procedure. Neither bonding nor a veneer will stop it. Decay at the edge of a filling, known as secondary caries, is one of the main reasons why composite fillings are replaced. Bonding is made from the same material.

Cavities are filled during restorative treatment, that is, treatment of decay that keeps as much of your own tooth as possible. In the early stages of tooth decay, when only a dull white patch is visible in the enamel, decay can often be stopped without a drill, with fluoride and a change of habits.

The dentist also looks for the causes of decay. If you get cavities often, they will ask whether you snack or have sugary drinks between meals and how you clean between your teeth. How long new fillings last depends more on your risk of decay than on the material itself. When that risk is high, the dentist may recommend a toothpaste with more fluoride.

The dentist assesses old fillings one by one. Fillings that leak or have decay under their edge are replaced before whitening, because whitening gel may more easily reach deep into the tooth through the gap. Well-sealed fillings that differ only in colour are usually replaced only after whitening, because they do not get lighter along with the teeth.

A large old filling also changes the plan itself, because a veneer holds most reliably on enamel, and complications may happen more often when it sits on a large filling. So when choosing between a veneer and a crown, how much healthy enamel is left also matters.

A tooth often darkens when its nerve, the pulp inside the tooth, has died. If the nerve has died, the tooth first needs root canal treatment. With irreversible pulpitis, the dentist assesses whether root canal treatment is needed or whether treatment that preserves living pulp tissue is possible.

Whitening before bonding: when to do it and how long to wait

Whitening is done after decay and gum problems have been treated, and before bonding and veneers. The order is the same for whitening at the practice and for whitening at home with trays. A filling placed in a front tooth before whitening may need replacing afterwards.

There are usually 2–3 weeks between the last whitening session and the bonding or the fitting of the veneers. Right after whitening, the material does not stick to the tooth as well, and in laboratory studies this difference stops being clear after about 2 weeks. Straight after the procedure the teeth are also dehydrated and look lighter, so the colour is assessed at the next visit.

When bonding or veneers can begin

Treatment before bonding or veneers is complete when:

• your gums do not bleed and, if they were treated, the dentist has assessed them at a follow-up visit
• there is no active decay
• the treated teeth do not hurt
• the colour has settled after whitening

When planning treatment at our practice in Warsaw's Wola district, we pay particular attention to making sure that cavities have been treated before a tooth is ground down or shaped with composite for the first time.

Once preparation is complete, a design of the shape and colour is created, known as smile design. The dentist often tries it out in your mouth first.

Porcelain veneers usually last many years. Over time, however, decay may appear at the edge, a veneer may come off, and the gum may recede and expose its edge.

Where should you start if you are planning bonding or veneers?

Start with a check-up and professional cleaning; X-rays are taken if the dentist identifies a clinical need. At the very first visit, say what result you would like to achieve, and ask how many stages of preparation lie ahead in your case. The colour and shape of the teeth are usually decided only once the teeth and gums are healthy. Bonding and veneers done on teeth with active decay or next to inflamed gums may last for a shorter time than the plan assumed.

Frequently asked questions

Can teeth with decay be whitened?

Teeth with active decay or with untreated cavities are not whitened. The dentist first treats the cavities and replaces any leaking fillings, and plans whitening after that. Through a cavity or a gap next to a filling, whitening gel may reach deeper into the tooth and make sensitivity worse. A small cavity is usually filled in a single visit, so in that case whitening is delayed only slightly.

Do the gums have to stop bleeding before bonding?

Yes, because bonding needs a dry, clean tooth. The material sticks to the surface of the tooth, and blood and saliva make a lasting bond harder to achieve. The dentist also protects the tooth from moisture during the procedure, for example with a rubber shield, but bleeding from an inflamed gum is hard to control. That is why the gums are treated first.

What if, during preparation, it turns out that a tooth needs root canal treatment?

The aesthetic plan is then pushed back by the time needed for root canal treatment and the check-up after it. Bonding and veneers are not done on a tooth whose root canal treatment has not been completed. A tooth that is dark after root canal treatment can often be lightened from the inside, by internal bleaching, which sometimes makes a veneer on that tooth unnecessary.

Can preparation be shortened if I need it done by a certain date?

Some stages can run at the same time, for example treating cavities while the gums are healing. The time the gums need to heal and the break after whitening are not shortened, however, because the shape, colour and adhesion of the veneers depend on them. If you have an important date coming up, mention it at the first visit so that the dentist can plan backwards from that date.

Can decay develop under a veneer?

Yes, although with porcelain veneers this is rare: roughly 3 veneers in 100 over about 10 years. Decay usually starts at the edge of the veneer, where it meets the tooth. After the procedure, keep cleaning between your teeth as carefully as before and come to your check-ups.

What can I expect in the first few days after professional cleaning?

For a few days your gums may be tender and bleed slightly when you brush, and your teeth may react to cold, especially at the necks, where the tooth meets the gum. After pockets have been cleaned, sensitivity at the necks of the teeth is more common and may last longer, but it usually eases with time. A toothpaste for sensitive teeth helps. Pain that is getting worse or a swollen gum is a reason to phone the practice.

Do teeth hurt after whitening at the dental practice?

Many people get sensitivity, that is, short, sharp twinges when they have a cold drink or for no obvious reason. With a higher-concentration gel most patients report it, and with a lower-concentration gel fewer do. It usually passes within 1–2 days. In the meantime, a toothpaste for sensitive teeth and avoiding very cold drinks help. If your teeth are sensitive or the necks of your teeth are exposed, tell the dentist beforehand, because they may choose a weaker gel.

Read more:

• Aesthetic and Restorative Dentistry in Warsaw
• Professional teeth cleaning: What the procedure involves, does it hurt and what results does it deliver?
• Tooth decay stages: when can it be stopped without drilling
• Veneers or crowns — when to choose which restoration
• Smile design step by step — how does smile design work?

Content and liability disclaimer

This article is informational and educational in nature and does not constitute medical advice, a diagnosis or a therapeutic recommendation — it does not replace a consultation with a specialist. If you are experiencing symptoms, have doubts or are facing a decision about treatment, consult a dentist. The methods described and the data cited are general in nature. The results of scientific studies relate to populations, not to an individual patient. The course and outcome of therapy depend on the individual clinical situation and may vary between patients. No information contained in this article constitutes a guarantee of result. The content has been prepared with due care, based on publicly available medical knowledge and the scientific publications indicated in the Sources section. We do not advise taking or refraining from any health-related action solely on the basis of the content of this article, without prior consultation with a doctor.

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