What is full mouth reconstruction?
Sometimes big problems need big solutions. Some patients have been having dental issues for a long, long time, and they've been waiting for a long time to get treatment. Of course, this issue won't have the same solution as somebody who comes often to the dental office, and there's nothing wrong with that. We're still going to help you.
Sometimes, when the patient has that many problems in so many teeth, they need a full mouth reconstruction. That means we need to work all around the mouth on all their teeth, or most of them. But then, at the end, we can make sure that all their teeth are healthy and looking great.
Who is a candidate for a full mouth reconstruction?
Well, it would be a patient that has, I would say, several teeth involved, like several teeth are in bad shape. They have very poor color or a change in color due to any medication or condition. But I would say more like having more teeth involved, not just a few.
Full mouth reconstruction cases need us to be a little bit more creative. Sometimes the patient is missing a lot of teeth. Sometimes the teeth are not very good at all. And then we have to combine the treatments a little bit. Go with dental bridges, dental implants, dental crowns, and veneers. So, depending on the case, we have a solution for you. But most people are candidates for full mouth reconstruction as long as they need the work, of course.
What disqualifies a person from being a full mouth reconstruction patient?
A patient who is not very consistent with their oral hygiene at home wouldn't be a great candidate for full mouth reconstruction. A patient who doesn't really care much about their teeth.
A patient who is not a candidate for a full mouth reconstruction is one who doesn't need the work. Sometimes you're not very happy with your teeth, but you don't need that type of solution
Also, with these kinds of bigger treatments, you need better maintenance of your teeth and your gums. This is not work that you do and then disappear for 20, 30 years because it's not going to last.
We're definitely going to educate you about how to take care of the work that you have done. But most people who need the work are candidates.
Is a general dentist qualified to perform full mouth reconstructions?
Definitely yes. Definitely, you need more experience. You need to get the training. You need to start, of course, as a dentist with smaller cases and then work your way up. But definitely yes. Of course, we both work with specialists if we need them. So we're never going to be by ourselves.
What are the different treatments for full mouth reconstructions?
We can have different options. We can do full mouth veneers and crowns. We can replace missing teeth with dental implants. We can do bridges, right, if you don't want to go with implants. There are a variety of treatments that we can do to fully reconstruct your mouth.
Treatment options that we have for full mouth reconstructions are very different from patient to patient. We have to do whatever the patient needs in order to have nice oral health. Sometimes it could be root canals, sometimes it could be extractions, bone grafting, implants, dental bridges, or dental crowns. So it's going to be case by case, but in the end, the result is going to be the same.
What is the process of going through a full mouth reconstruction?
First, we do a full evaluation. We take dental X-rays. We take pictures. We do an exam. We do the gum evaluation. We see how your mouth is in general. And then we create a treatment plan that works for your case. Then we plan all the appointments that we need in order to do that. We go over the treatments that we're going to do with the patient, right, with the material we're going to use, all these types of details. And then we go ahead and plan and schedule you.
Something we do at Wiser Smiles with full mouth reconstructions is we work the case backward. We first talk to the patient, answer all their questions, and make sure they know how they want to look and feel at the end of treatment. Depending on that, we plan everything ahead. Whatever type of treatment plan you need, we make sure to adjust to your time frame, then work based on your expectations and where you want to be.
How long a full month reconstruction takes?
This could be very flexible. Sometimes it could take six months, sometimes a year, sometimes a couple of weeks, depending on what type of treatment you need. Sometimes we have to perform prior surgeries and work on the foundation of the mouth.
Sometimes we have to put the patient in temporaries for a few weeks or a few months to see how everything is going, how the patient is adapting. But the important part is not to rush the process because the idea at Wiser Smiles is to do dentistry and to get to a solution that is going to be long-term. We don't try to rush it. We don't try to make it easy and, you know, chop-chop. What we're going to do is make sure that you're going to have it for a long time!
What anesthetics are available during the process of having a full mouth reconstruction?
We have local numbing, and we can do oral sedation. Those are both options we have at Wiser Smiles.
We definitely want to make sure that you feel comfortable. Normally, patients have a lot of anxiety. They've been procrastinating on their teeth for a long time. We can definitely do oral sedation, numbing gel, local anesthesia, whatever makes you feel comfortable.
What financial options do we have to pay for full mouth reconstruction?
We're going to have a variety of options for you at Wiser Smiles. We have several financing companies that we can offer, and we can also work with some in-house plans if that is the case. We have several options available for you.
It's not a secret that full mouth reconstructions are more expensive than a regular cleaning or single-tooth dentistry. But we always ask the same questions to every patient. Do you want to have healthy teeth? Do you want to look better in the future? If the answer is yes and the patient is motivated to do it, I guarantee you we're going to find a way to make sure that you can have the financial options to do it.
How can you schedule an appointment to talk about full mouth reconstructions at Wiser Smiles?
At Wiser Smiles, you come first. Whether you need dental care or simply have questions, call us at (754) 704-9939 or email [email protected] to schedule your visit. Our team is here to help you every step of the way.