Bonding, Veneers or a Crown? The Honest Comparison
Most people arrive having read that bonding is the cheap option and veneers are the good one. That is not quite it. They solve overlapping problems by different means, and the right answer depends far more on how much tooth you want to keep than on budget.
| | Composite bonding | Porcelain veneers | Crown |
|---|
| Cost per tooth | from £250 with us | reported £450 to £850 | higher again |
| Visits | one | two, with lab time | two |
| Tooth removed | none | a thin layer of enamel | substantial |
| Reversible | yes | no | no |
| Typical lifespan | around 5 years | 10 to 15 years | 10 to 20 years |
| Staining | gradual, polishable | highly resistant | highly resistant |
| Repairable | yes, chairside | usually replaced | usually replaced |
| Best for | chips, small gaps, edges, shape | whole-smile change, heavy staining | a broken-down tooth |
The row that matters most is
tooth removed. Bonding adds material to what you already have. Veneers and crowns take enamel away, and enamel does not come back. Once a tooth is prepared for porcelain, it needs something on it for the rest of your life.
That is why we will often suggest bonding first even when someone arrives asking for veneers. Live with the shape for a few years. If you love it, porcelain later is still open to you. If you had gone straight to porcelain, going back is not.
When porcelain genuinely is the better answer
Being fair to veneers, there are cases where bonding is the wrong tool. Deep intrinsic staining that whitening will not shift. Teeth that are significantly rotated rather than just uneven at the edge. Anyone who grinds heavily, since composite chips before porcelain does. And people who drink a lot of red wine, coffee or black tea and would rather not think about staining at all.
How Many Teeth Do You Actually Need Doing?
The question nobody answers properly, and the one that decides your bill.
Bonding is priced per tooth, so the plan matters more than the rate. Some rough guidance from what we see:
- One chipped tooth: one tooth. Sometimes two, if the matching tooth on the other side needs balancing so the smile reads evenly
- A single gap between the front two: two teeth, one either side of the space
- Uneven edges across the front: usually four, the two central and two lateral incisors
- A full smile change: six to eight, since the canines show more than people expect when they smile widely
- Worn-down front teeth from grinding: four to six, and a nightguard alongside it, otherwise you will be back
Smile in a mirror properly, the way you would in a photograph rather than politely. Count the teeth that show. That is your working number, and it is usually more than the one or two people expect.
Where the money actually goes
Composite material itself is not expensive. What you are paying for is time and hand skill. Each tooth takes 30 to 60 minutes of shaping, layering and polishing, done freehand against a mirror, and the difference between competent bonding and beautiful bonding is entirely in that hour. There is no laboratory to blame and no machine doing the work.
That is worth knowing when you compare quotes. A practice charging noticeably less per tooth is either working faster or using fewer layers, and both show up in the finish within a year.
What Bonding Cannot Do
Worth reading before your consultation so you can judge whether the answer you get is a straight one.
It cannot move teeth. Bonding changes the shape and colour of a tooth where it stands. If a tooth is genuinely out of line, the honest options are aligners first, or accepting a compromise. Building composite onto a rotated tooth to disguise the angle makes it bulky, and bulky is more noticeable than crooked.
It cannot lighten a dark tooth by much. Composite is placed over the existing tooth, and a very dark tooth shows through. Whitening comes first, always, and then bonding is matched to the finished shade. Doing it the other way round leaves a mismatch that only gets worse as the natural teeth lighten.
It cannot rebuild a heavily broken tooth. There is a point where there is not enough sound tooth left to bond to, and that is a crown or an onlay.
It will not last like porcelain. Five years or so is realistic, and anyone promising ten is selling optimism.
Making It Last
Bonding is the one cosmetic treatment where your habits genuinely decide the outcome, so this is not filler advice.
The first 48 hours matter most. Composite absorbs colour most readily while it is fresh. Red wine, coffee, tea, curry, tomato sauce, berries, beetroot and anything with strong colouring are worth avoiding for two days. It is a small inconvenience for a noticeably better result at year three.
Long term, staining is gradual rather than sudden. Composite is slightly porous where enamel is not, so it picks up colour slowly and evenly. Most people do not notice until they compare a photograph. Two things slow it considerably: rinsing with water after coffee or wine rather than letting it sit, and keeping hygiene appointments, since a professional polish restores much of the surface.
Never whiten over bonding. Whitening gel does not lighten composite. It lightens the teeth around it, and you end up with darker patches where the bonding sits. Whiten first, bond second, and if you want to whiten again later, expect the bonding to need refreshing to match.
Do not bite your nails, open packaging with your teeth, or chew pens. Composite edges chip under point loads far more readily than enamel. This is the commonest reason for an early repair.
Get a nightguard if you grind. Not optional advice if you do. Grinding will wear bonding flat within a couple of years and there is no material that survives it untreated.
What Happens at Five Years
Rarely explained, and it shapes whether bonding is good value.
Bonding does not fail all at once. It dulls, picks up colour at the margins, and occasionally chips at an edge. When that point arrives you have three options, and only one of them is expensive.
A polish and refresh. Often all that is needed. The surface is repolished and any stained margin is tidied. Quick and inexpensive.
A repair. A chip is rebuilt on the affected tooth only. Because new composite bonds chemically to old, this is a genuine repair rather than a remake, and you pay for one tooth rather than all of them.
A replacement. The old composite is removed and rebuilt. Because nothing was removed from the tooth in the first place, this is straightforward and the tooth underneath is unchanged.
That last point is the quiet advantage of bonding over porcelain. Replacing a veneer means preparing the tooth again. Replacing bonding means polishing composite off enamel that was never touched.
Why It Is Not Available on the NHS
A common question with a simple answer. The NHS funds treatment that is clinically necessary, and cosmetic reshaping of a healthy tooth is not. Composite bonding is therefore private only, everywhere in the UK.
There is a narrow exception worth knowing. If a front tooth is genuinely broken or decayed, a white filling to restore it can be NHS work, because the aim is repair rather than appearance. The distinction is whether the tooth needs fixing or whether you would like it to look different. In practice, if your teeth are sound and you want them straighter or more even, this is a private treatment.
Ours starts at £250 per tooth, with finance from £24.58 a month set out above.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is composite bonding?
Tooth-coloured resin applied to the surface of a tooth, shaped by hand and set hard with a light. It changes the shape, length, colour or edge of a tooth without removing any of it, in a single appointment.
How much does composite bonding cost?
Ours is from £250 per tooth. Published UK ranges run roughly £90 to £200 per tooth, and up to £400 for complex work. What decides your total is how many teeth show when you smile.
Does composite bonding hurt?
No. Nothing is drilled and no anaesthetic is normally needed. The tooth surface is lightly etched so the resin grips, which you do not feel.
How long does composite bonding last?
Around five years with reasonable care, and longer on teeth that take less load. What shortens it is grinding, chipping from habits like nail biting, and gradual staining.
Is composite bonding better than veneers?
Different rather than better. Bonding is cheaper, done in one visit and removes no tooth. Porcelain lasts two to three times as long and resists staining far better, but requires enamel to be prepared permanently.
Can composite bonding close a gap?
Yes, and it is one of the most common reasons people have it. Resin is added to the sides of the two teeth either side of the space. Larger gaps sometimes look better closed partly with aligners first.
Will composite bonding stain?
Gradually, yes. It is slightly porous where enamel is not. Avoiding strongly coloured food and drink for the first 48 hours makes a real difference, and a professional polish restores much of the finish.
Can you whiten composite bonding?
No. Whitening has no effect on composite. Whiten your natural teeth first, then have the bonding matched to the final shade.
Is composite bonding reversible?
Yes, which is its main advantage over porcelain. No enamel is removed, so the composite can be polished off and the tooth underneath is as it was.
How many teeth should I have done?
Count the teeth visible in a full smile, not a polite one. One chip needs one tooth, a single gap needs two, uneven front edges usually four, and a full smile change six to eight.
Can I have bonding on a crooked tooth?
Sometimes, for a mild case. Bonding cannot move a tooth, so a significantly rotated one is better straightened first. Building resin onto it to hide the angle makes it look thick.
Can bonding be repaired if it chips?
Yes, usually in one short appointment and only on the affected tooth. New composite bonds chemically to old, so it is a true repair rather than a remake.
See What It Would Look Like on Your Teeth
The useful first step is someone looking at your teeth and telling you honestly whether bonding is the right tool, how many teeth it would take, and what it would cost. If aligners or whitening should come first, we would rather say so at that point than halfway through.
Call
020 7928 4474 or
book online. We are at 3 St George’s Court, Garden Row, London SE1 6HD, minutes from Elephant and Castle, Borough, Waterloo and London Bridge.
For the full fee breakdown see
composite bonding costs, for monthly payments
bonding on finance, and for results
our bonding gallery. If you are weighing it against porcelain,
composite veneers and
composite versus porcelain compare them directly, and
closing gaps in teeth covers every option for spacing.
Comparison figures for veneers and crowns are indicative UK market ranges from published 2026 cost guides, not our fees. Our bonding starts at £250 per tooth and is confirmed in writing after assessment. Composite bonding is a private treatment and is not available on the NHS. Last reviewed August 2026.
