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After Your Composite Bonding or Veneers

How to care for your new composite bonding or porcelain veneers, so they look good and last as long as possible.

4 min read

Urgent help: who to contact

Call 999 or go to A&E now if you find it hard to breathe, swallow or speak, or if swelling spreads to your neck, under your tongue or around your eye.

Contact your dental team if a veneer or bonding chips or falls off, if you have a lot of pain, or if your bite feels very wrong. If you cannot reach them, call NHS 111.

Straight After Your Appointment

You may have had composite bonding put straight onto your teeth, or porcelain veneers fitted. Either way, the care straight after your visit is much the same.

  • Numbness: if you had a numbing injection (local anaesthetic), your mouth may feel numb for 1–3 hours. Do not eat until all the feeling is back. Take extra care with hot drinks.
  • Sensitivity: some sensitivity to hot, cold and biting is normal for a few days. This is more likely if the tooth surface was gently shaped first (tooth preparation).
  • Composite bonding is fully set before you leave the chair. You can eat normally once the numbness has worn off. But it is sensible to avoid very hard foods on the day.
  • Porcelain veneers are fixed on for good, but they need a short time to settle in. Your bite may feel a little different at first.

What to Avoid to Protect Your Results

Composite bonding and porcelain veneers are strong, but they can still break. Some habits can chip, stain or damage them.

Avoid:

  • Biting your nails, chewing pens or using your teeth as tools. These are some of the most common causes of chips.
  • Biting straight into very hard foods with the treated teeth. This includes apples (cut them up), crusty bread, hard sweets, boiled sweets and ice.
  • Grinding or clenching your teeth. If you do this, especially at night, ask your dental team about a night guard. Grinding is a major cause of damage to veneers.
  • Having a lot of foods and drinks that stain, such as coffee, tea, red wine and cola. Composite bonding stains more easily than porcelain veneers. Drinking cold staining drinks through a straw helps.
  • Smoking. It badly stains composite materials.
  • Harsh (abrasive) or whitening toothpaste. Use a gentle fluoride toothpaste instead. This stops the surface of composite bonding going dull.

Daily Care

Good daily care keeps your bonding or veneers looking their best. It also protects the teeth underneath.

  • Brush twice a day with a soft toothbrush and a gentle (non-abrasive) fluoride toothpaste.
  • Clean between your teeth every day with floss or small interdental brushes. Take care at the edges of the bonding or veneer, where they meet the gum.
  • Do not use whitening toothpaste. It is too harsh for composite and will dull its shine over time. It does not whiten composite or porcelain.
  • Any tooth whitening should be done before composite bonding or veneers. The material cannot be whitened once it is in place.
  • Go to regular check-ups and hygiene visits. Your dental team will polish your bonding or veneers and check them.

How Long They Last

Knowing how long your results are likely to last helps you plan and look after them.

  • Composite bonding usually lasts 5–7 years with good care. After that, it may need polishing, repair or replacing. With excellent care, and no habits such as grinding (parafunctional habits), it can last longer.
  • Porcelain veneers usually last 10–15 years or more. Porcelain stains less and is stronger than composite.
  • Small chips in composite can often be repaired easily and cheaply at a check-up.
  • How long any cosmetic work lasts depends a lot on your habits, how well you clean your teeth and whether you go for regular check-ups.

When to Contact Your Dental Team

Contact your dental practice if:

  • A veneer or bonding chips, cracks or falls off. Keep any pieces and contact the practice. It can usually be repaired.
  • Your bite feels very uneven after 3–4 days. A simple bite adjustment may be needed.
  • You have a lot of tooth sensitivity that is getting worse after 2 weeks
  • The gum around the veneer or bonding looks swollen or red, or keeps bleeding. This may mean a problem at the edge.
  • You are unhappy with how it looks after it has settled in. Talk to your dental team. They can often make changes.

Call 999 or go to A&E now if you find it hard to breathe, swallow or speak, or if swelling spreads to your neck, under your tongue or around your eye. For other urgent problems, contact your dental practice. If it is closed, call NHS 111.

This leaflet is for general information only and does not replace professional dental advice. Your dental team will discuss your individual circumstances and any risks specific to you. Treatment outcomes vary between patients depending on individual circumstances.

Sources

Links checked 18 October 2026.

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For clinicians: Veneer (Composite or Porcelain) notes template, Composite Bonding (Cosmetic) notes template.

Learn more about dental documentation on our blog or see Nosht pricing.

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