FULL MOUTH RESTORATION
Under ideal circumstances, your teeth are designed to last a lifetime. They’re perfectly adapted to help us carry out essential tasks like eating, speaking, and even swallowing. More than that, though, our teeth play a role in our social lives by allowing us to express ourselves. Our smiles impact the way others view us, as well as the way we view ourselves. Despite the natural strength of our teeth, throughout a lifetime, there’s a lot that can damage them. Eventually, extensive damage to many of your teeth can cause you to lose confidence in the way you smile.
Thankfully, this doesn’t have to become your new normal! A full mouth restoration could be the key to repairing and rebuilding your oral health, including restoring function and appearance, as well as feeling your best and strongest. You may even be able to gain the smile of your dreams—the smile you’ve always wanted. But what exactly is a full mouth restoration? We’ve put together a guide to help you learn more about this restorative dentistry treatment and whether it could be right for you.
Full mouth restoration involves reconstructing all of the teeth in both the upper and lower jaws through the use of restorative materials like crowns, bridges, veneers, and dentures. Full mouth reconstruction can be a necessary treatment performed to preserve the patient's oral health.
Candidates for Full Mouth Restoration
This treatment may be performed on patients who have missing or severely damaged teeth caused by:
Decay
Injury or fracture
Acid erosion
Tooth grinding
Malocclusion
Missing teeth often leads to serious dental problems and can significantly inhibit a patient's ability to eat and speak. It is important to seek restorative treatment for any missing teeth, but especially when most or all of the teeth are damaged.
Full Mouth Restoration Options
There are many different treatment options available for patients requiring reconstruction. Each type of dental restoration offers its own benefits and several treatments may be combined to complete a full mouth restoration.
There is a wide variety of prosthetic materials that are commonly used to replace damaged or missing teeth. These materials may be permanently implanted or glued to the mouth or can be removable and temporary. They may replace individual teeth, a few teeth, or all of the teeth. Some of these options may include:
Crowns
Dental crowns are individual prosthetic teeth used to replace missing or severely damaged teeth. Crowns are implanted into the jawbone with a titanium implant root or placed with cement as a cap over an existing tooth. The actual crown can be made from metal, porcelain, or a combination of the two and provide a natural-looking and feeling replacement. Crowns provide a strong, sturdy, aesthetically pleasing replacement that can withstand the same pressures as a regular tooth, letting patients enjoy the convenience of eating, speaking, and smiling without any problems.
Bridges
Dental bridges replace missing teeth with a short row of prosthetics that rely on the strength of surrounding teeth and help stabilize the bite. Bridges also help keep surrounding teeth from moving into the open space of the missing tooth. The surrounding teeth are prepared for the bridge, which is then attached to the teeth. Bridges can be permanent or removable and provide a restored function and appearance.
Veneers
Veneers are shells made from composite or porcelain that fit over the natural teeth to provide a white, even, full smile and can cover up crooked, chipped or discolored teeth. They are bonded to the front of the tooth after the tooth has been buffed in preparation of the veneer, which is then bonded to the teeth with an etching solution and special light. Veneers typically last for 10 to 15 years and are more durable and less expensive than other materials. Veneers are a cosmetic enhancement and cannot replace missing teeth.
Dentures
Dentures are for people who have lost many or all of their teeth and are usually used to replace an entire arch of teeth. Dentures can be removable or fixed, and partial or full, depending on each patient's needs and preferences. Dentures can be treated just like natural teeth but require special care and adjustment when they are removable.
Implants*
Dental implants are small titanium screws that are drilled into the jaw bone to replace missing teeth. The implant serves as the root of a replacement tooth and can be covered by a crown, bridge or dentures to provide a natural-looking replacement for the missing tooth. The implant is first placed into the jaw and then allowed to fuse with the bone before the prosthetic is placed on top. Implants provide long-lasting support that most closely replaces the individual strength and stability of the natural teeth.
*At Revive Cosmetic Dentistry, we do not place implants. We refer our patients to Oral Surgeons and Periodontists in the area in order to have the implant placed. Then you return to us to have the tooth, bridge, or denture fabricated and placed on the implant.
Full mouth restoration is a complicated procedure that involves multiple office visits and can take up to a year or longer to complete, depending on each patient's individual case. A customized treatment plan for each individual patient will be developed with the dentist, to help regain a healthy smile.
No matter what procedures are involved in your full mouth restoration, the goal is always the same—to give you a beautiful, functional, healthy smile that you will truly love and feel confident with. If you’d like to learn more about full mouth reconstruction or full arch rehabilitation, feel free to schedule a consultation with us at any time.
How It Works
If you are considering full mouth restoration, talk to your dentist to see if it's the right choice for you. The process of being examined and evaluated for full mouth restoration is extensive and could take more than one appointment to solidify a plan. You might be referred to other dental specialists, too. Be sure to understand that the process of creating a plan is thorough because undergoing full mouth restoration is a big commitment. Your dentist will start by doing an examination of all of the possible areas that may need work.
Teeth
The amount of wear or damage to your teeth determines the need for prosthetics such as bridges, inlays or onlays, full-coverage crowns, dental implants, or dentures. The determining factors for tooth restoration that your dentist will make note of include cavities, decay, cracks, teeth that are longer or shorter than the others, and teeth that are out of alignment.
Gum Tissue
The gum tissue, or periodontal tissue, that isn't healthy will need scaling and root planing in order to cure severe periodontal disease. Scaling is a procedure that removes plaque from below the gum line. Root planing smooths the root, allowing the gum to reattach to the tooth.
More serious conditions involving severe gum recession might require treatments such as bone or soft tissue grafting.
Occlusion
Your bite or occlusion will need to be addressed before any other restorative work can be done. Changes in your bite will need to be considered by your dentist when mapping out your restorative plan.
If your occlusion isn't stable, you'll need to have it aligned with a night guard or a bite-reprogramming device.
Esthetics
The size, shape, proportions, and color of your teeth are all important factors for restoration. Making sure you will be happy and confident with your new mouth is as important as your overall oral health.
While procedures purely for esthetics might seem different than needing reconstructive surgery for damaged teeth, it is equally important that you love your smile and feel confident in how you look and feel.
Obtaining Records and Making a Plan
In addition to the examination, this process requires records of your mouth, including x-rays, impressions made of both your lower and upper sets of teeth, molds made of those impressions, and an impression of the alignment of your bite.
Your dentist may refer you to a specialist such as an orthodontist, periodontist, or an oral surgeon to come up with a strategy for your restoration plan.
When your dentist has all of the necessary information compiled and organized, you will receive a step-by-step plan for your future procedures.
Be sure you understand every part of your plan and ask your dentist questions. It is important to know all of the risks and benefits involved in full mouth restoration, so be sure to ask your dentist any questions you might have.