Full Mouth Reconstruction at Implant Dentistry Northwest
Hi, this is Keith Phillips at Implant Dentistry Northwest, and today I'm going to talk about full mouth reconstruction.
Implant Dentistry Northwest is fully equipped to carry out full mouth reconstruction procedures of the highest quality. If you have been wanting to get your smile back after a severe accident or other unexpected event leading to a full or partial loss of your natural teeth, Our oral rehabilitation experts are here to help.
Dr. Phillips, what is a full mouth reconstruction?
Full mouth reconstruction is a way we utilize many different techniques to restore someone's mouth back to function and aesthetics. They may need this procedure because they've lost teeth over the years, perhaps due to cavities or gum disease, or they've had trauma that caused them to lose some teeth and bone structures. In any situation where the mouth is not functioning correctly or doesn't look as nice as it should, we can do a full mouth reconstruction to put everything back together again.
Full mouth reconstruction or rehabilitation refers to a comprehensive restoration procedure that involves replacing all of the teeth – both upper and lower – and possibly reconstruction of the mouth structure, including the gums and jawbone.
After full mouth reconstruction, the patient's jaw and facial structure will improve significantly, and the mouth will function better when eating and speaking. This procedure is usually carried out in severe cases, regarded as a necessary, rather than elective surgery. Your family dentist will usually work with a team of dental health specialists to plan and carry out your dental restoration procedure.
Common Reasons for Getting a Full Mouth Reconstruction
You may need a full mouth reconstruction for one of several reasons, usually involving complex dental problems. Some of these reasons include:
- Severe Tooth Decay: Full mouth reconstruction can restore decayed teeth that cannot be fixed with simple fillings.
- Tooth Loss: Full mouth reconstruction can replace missing teeth with implants, bridges, or dentures.
- Periodontal Disease: Advanced gum disease can lead to tooth loss and damage to the bone and gums. If this damage is sufficiently advanced, full mouth reconstruction can restore healthy gums and teeth.
- Trauma or Injury: Accidents or injuries that cause significant damage to the teeth and jaw can sometimes only be resolved with full mouth reconstruction.
- Wear and Tear: Teeth can wear down over time. Full mouth reconstruction can restore the teeth's structure and functionality.
Who would be a candidate for full mouth reconstruction?
A good candidate for full mouth reconstruction is someone who is missing several teeth, or the teeth aren't in the right position, or they've had severe bone loss, causing their teeth to become loose and need to be solidified somehow. In any of these situations, where there's missing teeth, gum structure issues, or teeth not looking well because they're not in the right position, these types of situations can be restored through reconstructing the full mouth.
Full mouth reconstruction may become a necessity due to several possible causes. Some of the patients who could benefit from full-mouth rehabilitation include:
- Patients who have had oral cancer
- Patients who were born with medical conditions that have affected the oral cavity
- Patients who have experienced severe tooth decay, and/or those with a number of missing teeth
- Patients who have experienced trauma that has fractured most of the teeth
- Patients who experience chronic pain due to oral health issues.
What are the different treatment options for full mouth reconstruction?
As far as different treatment options, it all depends on your particular situation. There are different restorative options we have, such as crowns, bridges, veneers, and implant restorations. All those can be used depending on your situation. If the teeth aren't in the right position, we may actually have to include an orthodontist to get the teeth in the right position for us to do the final restorations on top. It can be rather involved. If you have gum disease, that might need to be treated first before we do anything. Depending on your situation, it can be very varied in how we do this reconstruction for you.
Would you like to mention bomblays and dentures? Yes, even a denture can be a full mouth reconstruction. People with no teeth and missing much of their jaw can be restored through dentures. Understanding how teeth should look and how they should bite when there are no teeth to even reference is quite an art. Even a denture can be a full mouth reconstruction. That's at least how I think about it.
What Kind of Full Mouth Reconstruction Procedures Do We Perform?
Full mouth reconstruction involves a combination of several different dental procedures. Two or more of these will be incorporated into your treatment depending on your needs. They include:
- Dental Implants: Titanium implants provide a stable foundation for crowns, bridges or dentures.
- Crowns and Bridges: Crowns restore damaged teeth and bridges replace one or more missing teeth.
- Veneers: Thin shells are placed over damaged teeth to improve their appearance and prevent further damage.
- Orthodontics: It may be necessary to apply braces or clear aligners to correct misaligned teeth.
- Periodontal treatments: A variety of these treatments may be necessary for the full restoration of your smile, including scaling, root planing, gum grafts and pocket reduction surgery.
- Root canal therapy: This is a treatment for infected roots and tooth pulp. It prevents further tooth decay and relieves the pain that often arises from these infections.
- Tooth-colored fillings: These act like ordinary fillings but they are designed to blend in with the natural teeth, effectively making them invisible.
What is the process for going through a full mouth reconstruction?
The process of a full mouth reconstruction is very complicated. We typically need to do a thorough examination of your teeth, the structures, the bone, your smile, and how that all works together. We'll take that information and put it on the computer or on our dental articulators, our mechanisms for us to have you in our laboratory when you're not here to start to figure things out. With that information, we start to figure out where the teeth should be in your smile and functional abilities to start to have a plan for your reconstruction. I like to think of myself as a mouth architect, and I need a blueprint of what we're going to build before we start building. Once we have that information, we start the process. If it begins with placing some temporaries, then we do that. Then maybe you have some orthodontics done or some gum surgeries, and we may decide we need to place some implants. Making that plan is very important. It's not just about having a plan to build something; we have to have the proper sequencing of doing things in a certain fashion so that it's as efficient as possible. Each person gets their own customized plan based on their situation and desires for the future.
How Full Mouth Reconstruction Works
The patient first consults with their family dentist, who can either refer them to a prosthodontist, or bring several specialists onto the treatment team. The treatment team may include any or all of the following specialists, depending on the specific issues that affect each patient:
- a periodontist
- an endodontist
- a prosthodontist
- an oral surgeon
- an orthodontist
Working together, this team will first determine how the teeth, gums, and jaw of the patient may need to be prepared. After the initial preliminary work is completed, crowns, bridges dental implants, dentures, or "onlays" may be constructed, to create a permanent, fully functional set of teeth. During the procedure, the team addresses the issues behind the reconstruction, and ensures that the new teeth are both aesthetically pleasing and provide an effective bite.
After a full mouth reconstruction, patients experience better oral health, more social confidence, and may even experience improved opportunities in the workplace. Some patients also report a significant reduction in jaw, back, neck, temple, or mouth pain once the procedure is complete.
What Are the Steps Involved with Full Mouth Reconstruction?
When you come to us for a full mouth reconstruction, we will take you through the following steps:
- Initial Consultation: At your first consultation, we assess your oral health, discuss your goals, and develop a personalized treatment plan.
- Comprehensive Examination: A detailed examination, including X-rays, 3D scans, and impressions, helps us understand the extent of your dental issues. We can then plan the best combination of treatments for your reconstruction.
- Treatment Planning: We create a personalized treatment plan outlining the procedures needed, the timeline, and the expected outcomes.
- Pre-Treatment Preparation: Any necessary pre-treatment procedures, such as extractions or periodontal therapy, are performed to prepare your mouth for reconstruction.
- Reconstruction Procedures: Finally, the main reconstruction procedures are carried out. This will often involve multiple visits and treatments.
- Follow-Up Care: After completing the reconstruction, follow-up appointments are scheduled to monitor healing and make any necessary adjustments.
How long does a full mouth reconstruction take?
A full mouth reconstruction, as far as timing from beginning to end, can vary. If you don't have to have orthodontics or gum surgeries or implants, if it's just restoring your teeth, it could take anywhere from one to three months, let's say. If we have to go through orthodontics, gum procedures, dental implants, you could be looking at two to three years sometimes before you get done. Many times, the destruction of your dentition has been over many years, so it's not an overnight procedure to put you back together again. It could take a good amount of time depending on your situation.
What anesthesia options will be available during the full mouth reconstruction process?
Many of the procedures we do could be very long, sometimes several hours that you're sitting in the chair. We want you to be as comfortable as possible. Of course, we would use local anesthetic to numb the mouth for us to do the work, but we also have IV sedation or oral conscious sedation where you would take a pill to help you relax. There are different options available here at our office to make you as comfortable as possible.
Are there special care instructions following a full mouth reconstruction?
After we're done with your reconstruction, we have to ensure that we have an environment that makes it easy for you and the hygienist to clean afterwards. The normal things you would do with your regular teeth, such as brushing and flossing, apply here as well. Regular cleaning with your dentist and regular care at home is very important to maintain these teeth as long as possible. If the destruction was due to a grinding habit, we would want you to have an occlusal guard to help protect against those forces that you can generate by grinding.
Are financing options available to help me pay for a full mouth reconstruction?
Regarding financing options for full mouth reconstruction, we work with third-party companies that can help with financing over a period of time, sometimes a year with 0% interest. Our staff will work with you to help maximize your dental insurance benefits to their utmost.
If you think you are a candidate for full mouth reconstruction in Tacoma, WA, get in touch with Implant Dentistry Northwest today and book an appointment with one of our experts.
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