Question

Assalamualaykum, is composite bonding and teeth whitening permissible as part of dental treatment?

Jazakallah

Answer

Treatments and enhancements related to the body fall into one of two categories. Either the objective will be to correct a defect and return that part of the body to a normal state, in which case the treatment will be usually be permissible. Alternatively, the objective may be to modify and enhance that part of the body beyond its natural state to conform to a certain body image and beauty standard, usually influenced by social media and other trends. This would not be permissible.

When it comes to teeth shades, there is a commonly used shade guide which differentiate between various shades of teeth. We have been informed by field experts that a large proportion of people have an A3 shade of teeth which is a slightly reddish-brown colour, though it is possible to have naturally lighter teeth.

The B1 shade used to be the whitest shade for natural teeth, however, with bleaching products it is now possible to get shades lighter than B1. These shades, however, are whiter than the natural teeth shade and are referred to as Hollywood shades.

If an individual naturally has shade A3 teeth, it is not possible to achieve B1 without bleaching. General hygiene treatments will only remove external stains and take the teeth shade back to what it naturally was. It may give the illusion that the teeth have lightened, though in reality only stains have been removed. Hence, to get to a B1 shade, one would have to undergo bleaching and modify the tooth from the interior.

Based on the above information it would be permissible for an individual to undergo a general hygiene treatment to remove defects such as stains, and return their teeth back to their natural shade. However, it would not be permissible to use chemical agents and bleaching procedures to lighten the colour of the tooth beyond the individual’s natural shade. The reason for prohibition is that one is modifying the creation of Allah the Almighty without any sort of necessity.

The only exception to this would be where an individual’s natural shade is clearly defective due to disease or other reasons such as fluorosis.

As for composite bonding the same principle will apply. If a person is correcting a defect such as a chip or a crack, it would be permissible to undergo the procedure. If however, there is no defect, and the aim is to modify one’s look according to a certain trend this will not be permissible as they are modifying the creation of Allah the Almighty without a valid reason.

In any case, one must ensure that the products used in the procedures do not contain any unlawful and impure ingredients such as those that originate from the pig.

الفتاوى الهندية (5/ 360)
إذَا أَرَادَ الرَّجُلُ أَنْ يَقْطَعَ إصْبَعًا زَائِدَةً أَوْ شَيْئًا آخَرَ قَالَ نُصَيْرٌ – رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى – إنْ كَانَ الْغَالِبُ عَلَى مَنْ قَطَعَ مِثْلَ ذَلِكَ الْهَلَاكَ فَإِنَّهُ لَا يَفْعَلُ وَإِنْ كَانَ الْغَالِبُ هُوَ النَّجَاةُ فَهُوَ فِي سَعَةٍ مِنْ ذَلِكَ رَجُلٌ أَوْ امْرَأَةٌ قَطَعَ الْإِصْبَعَ الزَّائِدَةِ مِنْ وَلَدِهِ قَالَ بَعْضُهُمْ لَا يَضْمَنُ وَلَهُمَا وِلَايَةُ الْمُعَالَجَةِ وَهُوَ الْمُخْتَارُ وَلَوْ فَعَلَ ذَلِكَ غَيْرُ الْأَبِ وَالْأُمِّ فَهَلَكَ كَانَ ضَامِنًا وَالْأَبُ وَالْأُمُّ إنَّمَا يَمْلِكَانِ ذَلِكَ إذَا كَانَ لَا يَخَافُ التَّعَدِّيَ وَالْوَهْنَ فِي الْيَدِ كَذَا فِي الظَّهِيرِيَّةِ

The material used in teeth bonding is made of a special type of plastic called composite resin. It’s a strong material, but the resin isn’t as durable as your natural tooth enamel. Nor is it as hard as the porcelain and other materials used in veneers or dental crowns.

https://www.colgate.com/en-us/oral-health/bonding/teeth-bonding-disadvantages-to-consider#

https://www.colgate.com/en-us/oral-health/bonding/what-is-teeth-bonding

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6784469/

Answered by:
Ifta Research Fellow

Checked & Approved by:
Mufti Abdul Rahman Mangera
Mufti Zubair Patel