Composite bonding · Designer Smiles, Solihull
The chip, the gap, the worn edge. Rebuilt in one visit.
Composite bonding shapes tooth-coloured resin onto your own teeth: no drilling, usually no injection, and about forty minutes in the chair for the final visit. At Designer Smiles it is from £200 a tooth, and you see a trial smile on your own teeth before anything is made permanent. The consultation is free.
In short
What composite bonding is.
Composite bonding is a tooth-coloured resin sculpted onto the front or the edge of a tooth and set hard with a blue light. It closes small gaps, rebuilds chipped corners and worn edges, evens up lengths and covers marks, in one visit, with the tooth underneath left whole. At Designer Smiles it costs from £200 a tooth.
Two ways we do it
Edge bonding, or the whole front of the tooth.
Composite bonding at Designer Smiles is done in two ways, and the consultation decides which suits what you want changed.
Edge bonding
- What it is: a subtle addition of composite resin to part of each treated tooth, to improve its shape, colour or proportion.
- How much tooth is touched: very little. It is minimally invasive, and the tooth underneath stays as it is.
- For: a chipped edge, a short tooth, a small gap, a worn corner: the subtle enhancement that looks like it was always there.
- Visits: one, after the design and trial smile.
3D composite bonding
- What it is: a thin shell of hybrid resin-ceramic placed onto the whole front surface of the existing tooth, to change its colour, shape and proportion.
- For: a fuller transformation of the smile rather than a subtle enhancement, with no drilling of the tooth beneath.
- How it is planned: on the 3D scan of your face and teeth, with the trial smile on your own teeth before anything is made permanent.
- Price: per tooth, written down at the consultation.
Is it right for your teeth?
What bonding fixes, and what it does not.
Bonding adds material to a tooth. That makes it the right answer for anything that is missing, short or uneven, and the wrong answer for anything that needs moving, strengthening or lightening first. The consultation tells you which you have; this list tells you what to expect to hear.
Bonding fixes
- A chipped corner on a front tooth, rebuilt to match its neighbour.
- A small gap between front teeth, closed by widening the teeth either side a fraction.
- Worn or short edges, lengthened so the teeth show when you smile.
- Uneven lengths across the front teeth, brought level.
- A tooth the wrong shape or shade, reshaped and colour-matched to the rest.
- A slight twist or overlap, made to look straight without moving the tooth.
Bonding is not for
- Crowding or larger gaps. Teeth that need moving are moved with Invisalign first; bonding can finish the edges afterwards.
- A heavily broken or root-filled tooth. That needs the strength of a crown.
- Teeth you want whiter all over. Resin does not bleach, so whitening comes first and the bonding is matched to the new shade.
- Heavy grinding without a night guard. Grinding chips bonding; a soft night guard is £150 and protects the work.
How it runs
Five steps, and you approve the smile before it is made.
- 1
Free consultation
Your dentist looks at the teeth, listens to what you want changed, and scans your face and teeth in 3D. No putty impressions.
- 2
Smile design
The scan becomes a design of the new teeth on screen, shaped to your face. You see it and change it before anything touches a tooth.
- 3
Trial smile
A trial version of the design is placed over your own teeth. You look in the mirror, adjust the shape or the shade, and only then agree the final.
- 4
The bonding
Each tooth is cleaned and its surface lightly roughened, no drilling. The resin is layered on, shaped, set with the light and polished. The final visit takes about forty minutes.
- 5
Check and care
A last look at how the teeth meet when you bite, a polish, and the few habits that keep bonding looking new for years.
What it is like
No drilling, usually no injection.
Because the tooth is not cut, most bonding needs no anaesthetic at all: you feel the tooth being cleaned and the resin being shaped, and that is all. You can eat and drink as soon as you leave. For the first few days go easy on anything very hard or crunchy while you get used to the new edges.
Afterwards the bonding is looked after like a tooth: brush, floss, and have it polished at your check-ups. Tea, coffee and red wine stain resin a little faster than enamel over the years, which a polish lifts. If you want your teeth whiter, that happens before the bonding, because the resin is matched to whatever shade your teeth are on the day.
Before and after
Teeth bonded here.
Composite bonding cases from this practice, photographed the same way before and after. Gaps closed, edges rebuilt, lengths evened.
What it costs
Priced by the tooth.
Bonding is charged per tooth, so the total is the per-tooth figure times the teeth you choose to treat. One chipped tooth is one tooth. A full smile line is usually the six, eight or ten teeth that show when you smile. Your consultation ends with the exact figure for your plan, in writing, before you decide anything.
The per-tooth price below is our current offer; the fee guide's standard figure sits beside it. 0% finance through Tabeo over up to twelve months is available, arranged at the consultation.
From the Designer Smiles fee guide and current offer, September 2026.
Bonding, veneers or Invisalign
Three ways to change the front teeth, set side by side.
People arrive asking for one of these and often leave with another, because each does a different job. Here is the honest comparison, so the consultation starts from the right place.
| What happens to the tooth | Visits | How long it lasts | Price here | Best for | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Composite bonding | Resin added to the surface; nothing drilled away | Consultation, then one visit | Typically five years or more; chips are repaired, not redone | £200 – £250 a tooth | Chips, small gaps, worn edges, uneven lengths |
| Porcelain veneers | A thin layer of enamel removed; a porcelain shell bonded on | Two or three | Ten to fifteen years; stain-resistant; not reversible | £800 a tooth | Bigger shape and shade changes that need to last longest |
| Invisalign | Nothing added or removed; the teeth are moved | Check-ins over months | For good, with retainers worn at night | From £999 | Crowding, larger gaps, a bite that is out |
Many smiles use two of the three: Invisalign to move the teeth, then bonding to finish the edges. The 3D design shows the combination before you commit to either.
Who does it
Dr Aadam Binamin and the 3D scanner.
BDS · GDC 265535Dr Aadam Binamin built Designer Smiles around digital smile design: a 3D facial scanner and an intraoral scanner in every surgery, so the new teeth are designed to your face rather than guessed at in the chair, and a trial smile you can see in the mirror before the final bonding. He is joined by Dr Uthmaan Binamin and Dr Abbaas Binamin, and all three are on the General Dental Council register.
About the practiceWhat patients say
In their own words.
Heather W.★★★★★Friendly and professional service. Consultation very informative and lots of information given about results/expectations. Would highly recommend!
Shazia T.★★★★★Nice dental practice in a convenient location. Dental nurse was friendly and professional. Dentist was very good and took his time. Didn’t feel rushed. Booked in for further treatment.
Deborah P.★★★★★Very professional and relaxed atmosphere. Thorough examination and all options explained in detail. Highly recommended.
Questions
Asked before people book.
How much does composite bonding cost?
At Designer Smiles, from £200 a tooth on the current offer; the fee guide's standard price is £400 a tooth. The total depends only on how many teeth you treat. The consultation, with the 3D scan, is free and ends with the exact figure for your plan.
How much is a full set of composite bonding?
A full smile line is usually the six, eight or ten upper teeth that show when you smile, sometimes the lower ones too, each at the per-tooth price. Your dentist counts the teeth that need bonding rather than a fixed set; often the canines back need nothing.
Can I have bonding on just one or two teeth?
Yes, and it is one of the most common reasons people come: one chipped front tooth, or two that are shorter than the rest. One tooth is one tooth on the bill.
How long does composite bonding last?
Typically five years or more before it wants a polish or a small repair, and longer with care. Biting nails, pens or ice, and grinding at night, are what shorten it. Because resin is added rather than the tooth cut, a chip in the bonding is repaired in one short visit rather than the whole thing redone.
Does it hurt?
No. The tooth is cleaned and lightly roughened, not drilled, so most bonding is done without an injection. If a tooth is sensitive or a small cavity needs treating at the same time, your dentist numbs it first.
How long does the appointment take?
The final bonding visit is about forty minutes for a few teeth and longer for a full smile line. Before it come the free consultation with the scan and the trial smile appointment, so you have seen the result before the resin goes on.
Can I go back to my natural teeth afterwards?
Largely, yes. Because the tooth is only cleaned and lightly roughened, bonding can be removed or replaced later and the tooth underneath is still yours. That is the main difference from veneers, where enamel is removed and the tooth always needs covering.
Can I get composite bonding on the NHS?
No. The NHS treats disease and damage, so a filling in a decayed tooth is NHS work, but bonding for the look of a tooth is cosmetic and private everywhere in England. Our other everyday prices start from the NHS band figures; this page sets them side by side.
What are the downsides?
Resin stains a little faster than enamel and porcelain, it can chip if you grind or bite hard things, and it lasts years rather than decades. In return it is done in one visit, costs a fraction of veneers, and leaves the tooth whole. Which trade-off suits you is exactly what the consultation is for.
Is it cheaper to have bonding done in Turkey?
Usually, up front. What the trip does not include is the aftercare: bonding needs polishing and the occasional repair over its life, and a UK dentist repairing work they did not place will charge for it as new work. Weigh the whole five years, not the first week. Our Turkey teeth comparison goes through it honestly.
Where are you, and how do I book?
4 Manor Square, Solihull, B91 3PX, just off the High Street, with free parking for patients. Book online, call 0121 709 3821, or message us on WhatsApp. The bonding consultation is free.
Read before you decide
The questions behind the price, answered.
See it on your own teeth first.
A free consultation with the 3D scan, a design you approve, a trial smile in the mirror, and only then the bonding. From £200 a tooth.
4 Manor Square, Solihull B91 3PX · [email protected]
