Whitening, Bonding or Veneers?
Begin with what bothers you, then find the treatment that deals with it, learn where each one reaches its limit and what it costs here in Broughty Ferry, and see how treatments combine without you paying for anything twice.
Do I Need Whitening, Composite Bonding or Veneers?
Let the problem decide. Whitening suits healthy teeth whose only fault is being too yellow. Bonding mends chips, fills small gaps and levels uneven edges, usually without any drilling. Veneers alter shape and colour at once, and teeth that are crooked generally need straightening before any of it. At our Broughty Ferry practice, whitening costs £350, bonding is £395 per tooth and porcelain veneers start from £695, with a free consultation.
Describe the Problem and the Treatment Follows
Hardly anyone walks in and asks for a treatment by name. What we hear is that teeth look yellow in holiday photos, that a front tooth has a chip, or that a gap has always annoyed them. That kind of description is the surest pointer to the right treatment.
| How you'd put it | Where we'd normally begin |
|---|---|
| "My teeth are just a bit too yellow" | Home whitening |
| "I've got a chip, a little gap or one short tooth" | Composite bonding |
| "Several of my teeth are the wrong colour and the wrong shape" | Veneers, either composite or porcelain |
| "My teeth are crowded or stick out" | Invisalign, then look again |
| "One of my teeth has turned darker than its neighbours" | Examine the tooth, then bond or veneer that one tooth |
Whitening: Colour Only
Whitening brightens your natural enamel and the dentine beneath it. Reshaping a tooth, closing a space or changing the colour of fillings, crowns, bonding or veneers is beyond it. Here in Broughty Ferry we prescribe Boutique home whitening: a dentist checks your mouth first, trays are made from a 3D scan, and you fill them with professional gel for a fixed period each day, usually across two to three weeks.
The fee is £350, or £315 if you're on one of our plans, and it comes as standard with every Invisalign and bonding package. 1 Yellowish teeth respond best; greyer shades take longer. A little sensitivity is normal and settles. Whitening counts as dentistry under UK law, so a dentist has to prescribe it, and for anyone under 18 a gel stronger than 0.1% hydrogen peroxide is off limits unless it's to treat or prevent disease. There's more on our whitening page.
Unsure Which One You Need?
Send us a photo taken in daylight and a dentist will say where they'd begin.
Bonding: New Shape, Enamel Untouched
Tooth-coloured composite resin is layered directly onto the tooth, sculpted and then polished. Drilling and injections are usually unnecessary, and the work is finished in one or two visits. It suits chipped or worn edges, small gaps, teeth that are uneven or short, a narrow tooth among normal ones, and white patches.
The price is £395 per tooth, or £1,550 covering the front four teeth and whitening. 1 On average it looks good for three to five years before needing a refresh, and a chip can normally be repaired in a single short visit. Dr Nikhil Sharma carries out our bonding; you'll find examples on the composite bonding page.
Veneers: Shape and Colour in One
A veneer wraps the whole of a tooth's visible surface, and you can have one of two kinds. The composite version is sculpted by hand in the chair, generally with no drilling, at the same price as bonding, £395 per tooth. A porcelain veneer is crafted by a dental laboratory from an iTero Lumina scan and starts from £695 per tooth. 1
Of all the materials, porcelain is the nearest thing to real enamel: it shrugs off stain and 10 to 15 years of service, or longer, is typical. The compromise is that a thin layer of enamel normally has to come off first, and there's no putting it back. Allow three visits spread across roughly a month, one of them for a trial smile. Veneers are the sensible choice when stain won't budge, when a single tooth has darkened, when front teeth are more filling than tooth, or when old cosmetic work has reached the end of its life. Our veneers page has the detail.
What Whitening Can't Do
When colour is the only thing bothering you, whitening by itself is frequently enough. It helps to know where it stops, though. Grey, banded or blotchy discolouration lightens slowly and can lighten unevenly. A front tooth that darkened long after a knock, or following root canal treatment, may never quite match the teeth beside it. And fillings, crowns or bonding on the front teeth keep their original colour, which can make them noticeable once everything else is brighter.
If whitening does the job, that's the end of it. Should you still want a change of shape once you're happy with the colour, bonding or veneers can follow, colour-matched to the brighter teeth. Whitening first never costs you anything in the long run.
What Bonding Can't Do
Bonding is generally the kindest way to change a tooth's shape, but composite has its boundaries. Masking a very dark tooth demands a thick layer, and thick composite looks bulky. A heavily filled tooth has less sound enamel left for the composite to bond to. People who grind heavily chip composite edges more readily than porcelain. And a major change across all the front teeth, intended to last ten years or more, is usually better done in porcelain.
The other limit is crowding. A tooth that's fractionally out of line can be disguised with composite, but composite builds material on, so a crowded mouth simply becomes crowded and bulky. Straighten first and you'll often need very little composite, sometimes none at all.
The Right Sequence
Where more than one treatment is needed, the order runs: straighten, whiten, then bond or veneer. Teeth already sitting where they should need only thin bonding, or none. Whitening precedes composite and porcelain alike, because each is matched to your tooth shade on the day and won't brighten afterwards. Roughly two weeks are left between your final night of whitening and any shade matching, giving the colour time to settle.
A smile makeover is built on that order. Dr Sharma plans the outcome on photographs of your face, a mock-up can be worn as a trial smile before anything is decided, and there's no extra charge for either the design or the trial on top of the treatment itself. The written plan sets out every stage and the interval between them.
What Each Costs at Ferry Smile Studios
| Treatment | Price |
|---|---|
| Boutique whitening at home | £350 (£315 for plan members) |
| Bonding or a composite veneer, per tooth | £395 |
| Bonding packages of 4 to 10 teeth, including whitening | £1,550 to £3,950 |
| Porcelain veneer, each | From £695 |
| Invisalign, including whitening and retainers | From £2,500 |
None of these consultations carries a charge. A £40 deposit is taken at booking and refunded within 7 days of your attending. If you're torn between composite and porcelain, our veneers comparison takes it further.
Questions
This guide is general information, not a diagnosis. A dentist needs to examine you to say what is right for your teeth.