Bonding: Cost and Lifespan
The per-tooth price and the four packages, what the bonding works out at once whitening is taken out, how many years to expect, and what keeping it looking good costs.
How Much Is Composite Bonding in Glasgow, and How Long Does It Last?
At St Vincent Smile in Finnieston, composite bonding is £395 per tooth, or one of four packages that include home whitening, a review and a final polish: £1,550 for four teeth, £2,350 for six, £3,150 for eight and £3,950 for ten. Bonding typically lasts three to five years before it needs a refresh, often longer with care, and a chip can usually be repaired in one short visit. Consultations with Dr Umer Hameed are free.
Composite bonding in Glasgow at St Vincent Smile ›
The Price per Tooth and per Package
| Teeth | Typically covers | Price | Bonding per tooth, whitening taken out |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | A chip, a worn edge or a small gap | £395 | £395 |
| 4 | The four front teeth | £1,550 | £300 |
| 6 | The six seen when you talk | £2,350 | £333 |
| 8 | Out to the first premolars | £3,150 | £350 |
| 10 | The width of a broad smile | £3,950 | £360 |
Every package includes home whitening, which is £350 on its own, plus a review about two weeks later and a final polish. Composite veneers are priced the same way.2 Your fee is confirmed in writing at the consultation and doesn't change once treatment starts. Bonding sits outside the dental plan discount, so members and non-members pay the same.
How Long Bonding Lasts
Most bonding lasts three to five years before it needs a refresh, and it often goes longer. The composite itself doesn't wear out on a timetable. What decides its life is the load on the thin edges, the stain it meets and how it's looked after. A careful non-smoker who wears a night guard will usually get more years than someone who grinds and drinks a lot of coffee, from exactly the same bonding.
A refresh rarely means starting again. Usually the surface is re-polished or the outer layer replaced, and a chipped corner can be rebuilt by adding composite in one short visit, without redoing the tooth.
See What Bonding Would Cost You
Book a free consultation with Dr Umer Hameed in Finnieston. You'll leave with a written plan, the number of teeth and a fixed fee.
What Shortens It
- Grinding or clenching at night, which chips and wears the edges
- Biting nails, pens or ice, and opening packets with your teeth
- Smoking, which stains composite within months
- A lot of tea, coffee, red wine or turmeric without rinsing
- Whitening toothpastes, whose abrasives dull the polished surface
- Missed hygiene visits, where the polish that keeps it bright happens
Signs It's Due a Refresh
Bonding rarely fails all at once. These are the usual signs that it's time:
- A surface that stays dull or rough after a polish
- Stain that won't lift at a hygiene visit
- A fine dark line where the composite meets the tooth
- Edges that have worn short, or chipped more than once
Tell us what you've noticed, or send a photo, and we'll say whether it needs a polish, a repair or a refresh.
What Upkeep Costs
The running costs are modest and mostly ones you'd have anyway. A 30-minute hygiene visit, with a polish of the bonding, is £70, or £100 with Airflow, and both are included in our dental plans. Two visits a year come to £140 without a plan. If you grind, a custom night guard is £210, and it protects the bonding more than anything else you can do. If you had aligners elsewhere, Vivera retainers are £530 (they're included in our Invisalign packages), and wearing them keeps the teeth in the line the bonding was designed for. Small repairs are priced before we start.
Bonding or Porcelain Over the Years
Six teeth in bonding are £2,350 with whitening included. Six porcelain veneers start at £4,170. Porcelain often lasts 10 to 15 years or more and resists stain, but it usually needs a thin layer of enamel removed and is remade rather than repaired. Bonding keeps more of your own tooth and can be topped up, which is why many people start there and move to porcelain later, if at all. Our guide to porcelain and composite veneers compares them in detail.
Paying for It, and Who Does It
Treatment of £1,500 or more, such as a bonding package, can be spread through Chrysalis Finance over up to 60 months at 14.9% APR representative, subject to status. Representative example: Total amount of credit £5,000. Total charge for credit £1,975.60. Total amount repayable £6,975.60, by 60 monthly payments of £116.26. Representative 14.9% APR. Based on treatment costing £5,000 with no deposit, repaid over 60 months. Acceptance is subject to status. Terms and conditions apply. Our finance page explains how to apply.
Bonding here is with Dr Umer Hameed, who has a special interest in aesthetic and restorative dentistry and teaches composite bonding to other dentists. St Vincent Smile is an NHS-listed practice inspected by NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde; bonding is private treatment. Bonding, implant, full-arch and Invisalign consultations are all free, and the full-arch one includes the CT scan.
Questions
This guide is general information, not a diagnosis. A dentist needs to examine you to say what is right for your teeth.