At Bayou Dental Group, Dr. Finley has advanced training in complex dentistry and is qualified to provide your full-mouth reconstruction, if that’s what you need. He is an Accredited Fellow of the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry and a Fellow of the Academy of General Dentistry. He will give you a gorgeous, confident smile that improves your quality of life.
Why You Might Need a Full-Mouth Reconstruction
Sometimes the mouth can break down and be in serious need of repair. Full-mouth reconstruction uses a variety of dental treatments to re-create a proper relationship between gums, bone, muscles, and teeth. While few people have problems of this complexity, those who do need a full-mouth reconstruction need a highly qualified dentist with advanced training beyond a basic dental school education to perform it. Here are some of the problems that can be corrected with this treatment:
- Severely worn teeth. Some people have worn their teeth so severely that their jaw is collapsed, giving their face a scrunched-up look and possibly causing muscle spasms or headaches. The proper vertical dimension of the teeth needs to be restored (a process called “opening the bite”) by building up all the teeth.
- Complications from previous poor quality dental work. Extensive dental work done in a piecemeal fashion or without adequate training in advanced dentistry can cause a number of complications that can compromise the long-term health of all the teeth. In some cases, all of the old, poorly done dental work just needs to be replaced with a focus on creating harmonious function.
- Missing teeth haven’t been replaced. When teeth are extracted and no tooth replacement is made, the adjacent and opposing teeth will tip into the empty space. Those tipped teeth then, besides disrupting the bite and making chewing uncomfortable, are at risk of succumbing to gum disease or other problems. If there are several teeth missing in different parts of your mouth, the best treatment may be a full-mouth reconstruction.
- TMJ dysfunction. If you have headaches, earaches, difficulty either opening or closing your mouth, ringing in your ears, or noises coming from your jaw joint, you could have dysfunction of the temporomandibular joint. In severe cases of this disorder, a full-mouth reconstruction may be indicated.
Without a proper bite, chewing can become impaired, teeth can become worn, the jaw and neck can become sore, and even migraine headaches can occur. Full-mouth reconstruction can restore all of your teeth and rebuild a natural-looking smile.
Goals of Full-Mouth Reconstruction
Replacing or restoring your teeth is designed to achieve several goals:
- Giving you a new smile that will look and function like natural teeth.
- Sometimes the breakdown of your teeth and facial collapse affect your speech and restoring your speech will enable you to speak clearly.
- Your facial muscles will have more support and structure, which can help you look younger.
- It will be easy to eat a wide variety of foods and have a more nutritious diet.
- You will smile confidently, and your self-confidence will increase.
Treatment Options
Porcelain crowns
We use high-quality dental ceramics that mimic the color, translucency, and gloss of natural teeth. A full-mouth restoration with porcelain crowns will give you a natural-looking smile that’s uniquely yours.
Dental implants
Single dental implants – You can replace a missing tooth with the ultimate option—a dental implant. Dr. Finley can also use implants as abutments for dental bridges.
Full-arch treatments – If all your teeth are missing, instead of using one implant for every missing tooth, a full-arch treatment uses four or six implants. The implants are anchored in the jawbone to support a complete upper or lower non-removable (fixed) denture. Given time, the implants will fuse to your bone, a process called osseointegration. After a period of a number of weeks, when healing is complete, your permanent crowns or dentures will be attached to the implants.
Full-arch treatment requires several visits:
- Evaluation
- Consultation
- Implant placement
- Follow-up appointments to monitor the healing process
- Attaching replacement teeth to the implants
To ensure your comfort and a successful outcome, we will schedule appointments in intervals that allow for healing and recovery between procedures.
Call us or request an appointment online for an exam and an explanation of your options for full-mouth reconstruction.
