A reconstruction of the mouth strives to remove all of your tooth decay, old fillings and old dental crowns while improving your bite position. Everyone’s anatomy and jaw movements are different so everyone needs a different bite position to idealize their health and comfort.
What is a Full Mouth Reconstruction?
Your dentist will remove all of your old dental work such as crowns, fillings, and porcelain veneers and replace them with new dental work designed to create the new bite. This treatment should clean up any tooth decay or infection and improve your oral health.
Every full mouth reconstruction is uniquely designed to fit the specific needs of each patient, so no two are ever alike.
Generally speaking, one can typically be completed over the course of a few weeks or months with multiple appointments. The key to a full mouth reconstruction isn’t just which procedures are used, but in what order and how they come together as well. Each one needs to fit seamlessly with the others and provide optimal function, so often a patient will have downtime between treatments to see how their mouth adapts after appointments.
Missing Teeth?
Patients that have missing teeth or that have already had a lot of dentistry in the past such as dental crowns, porcelain veneers, silver or composite fillings have good reasons to get their entire mouth reconstructed. Over the years all of your dental work was done at different times, which means that it was not necessarily designed in harmony with what existed at the time and of course not what was to come. This type of tooth-by-tooth dentistry does not allow the dentist to improve your bite or jaw position, as they must respect the existing conditions.
Over the years we all grind and clench our teeth to some degree. This means that our bites are changing and eroding at different rates. When you look at someone with severe bruxism (tooth grinding), they have lost significant amounts of tooth height. This can lead to thin enamel, enamel fractures, tooth decay, and tooth sensitivity all of which are good reasons to consider a bite reconstruction. When tooth erosion is present, even if it is just from normal wear and chewing, it can still be a good reason to consider a full mouth reconstruction as long as it is non-invasively done.
Are there different types of Reconstruction Treatment?
Yes, there are several different approaches and they all seek to accomplish slightly different goals. Every dentist performs the treatment differently so be careful to understand what is possible and what you should expect. Likewise there are different timelines associated with the different treatments.
Treatment completed over several months to years:
Most full mouth reconstructions consist of replacing all of the old crowns, old fillings or bad porcelain veneers during a period of several months or years. This type of section-by-section dental care is the lowest level of mouth reconstruction because when the treatment is completed, the teeth are improved individually but the height of the bite and the jaw position is the same as it was before the treatment was started. This means that if you have a weak chin or an aging face you will not likely experience any improvements in this area.
Treatment completed in just a few weeks:
The next level of a full mouth reconstruction would be to complete the entire treatment at the same time instead of stretch out over several months. The advantage of this treatment is it allows the dentist the opportunity to have all of the porcelain prepared at the same time. By preparing all of the porcelain at the same time, the color will match and the function of the bite can be moderately improved. At this level of care any missing teeth, chewing issues, tooth sensitivity, and decay should be dramatically improved. Since this type of bite reconstruction does not involve idealizing the jaw position, you will not likely experience any anti-aging benefits or improvements to your facial shape or profile.
Is a Full Mouth Reconstruction Right For Me?
When you look in the mirror, if all you can see is what is wrong with your smile, a full mouth reconstruction may be what you need.
If you feel like nothing can be done to fix your smile, a full mouth reconstruction may be what you need.
If your smile is filled with stained, cracked, broken, decayed, or missing teeth, a full mouth reconstruction may be exactly what you need.
If you are interested in getting a full mouth reconstruction, Dr. Tran and our team are ready to help. To get started, all you need to do is contact our office for a consultation, and before you know it, you’ll have a smile you can truly be proud of again.