If you have several problems with your teeth, not only are you painfully aware of them, but chances are the other people in your life know about them as well. You can try to hide your teeth from others … if you think you’ll never talk to or smile at anyone ever. Otherwise, that gap left behind by a missing tooth or those crooked teeth will be obvious to everyone you meet.
And that’s just the cosmetic side of things. You need your teeth so you can eat. When your teeth hurt, or just give you pain when you chew, this is going to impact your nutrition and health, nevermind your mood when you have to give up certain comfort foods because it just hurts too much. This is where you need a full-mouth reconstruction.
What Is A Full-Mouth Reconstruction?
A full-mouth reconstruction is really just a comprehensive, detailed plan to get your smile back to a healthy, beautiful condition. If you have just a single problem (such as one lost tooth), there’s no need for such a plan because it’s just one treatment. But if you have multiple problems (such as three lost teeth, several infected teeth, and a tooth with a large cavity), it makes sense to create a plan before diving in to get things done.
Sometimes, the order in which you do treatments is important. For example, you might choose a dental bridge to replace a missing tooth. This treatment uses a pair of dental crowns on the teeth next to the empty space to hold onto the replacement tooth. If one of those nearby teeth has an infection inside it, our dentists would need to perform a root canal to stop the toothache and save the tooth. That requires make a small hole in the tooth so they can remove the infection. It doesn’t make sense to place a dental crown over the tooth only to make a hole in it. Root canals are normally finished by placing a crown on that tooth anyway, so why have to do it twice?
In other words, full-mouth reconstructions are an ordered, sensible list of treatments that you need to restore all of your teeth to their former glory. The dentists at either our Bridgeport/Trumbull office or our Shelton office can reconstruct all of the teeth in your mouth.
What Can Be Part Of A Full-Mouth Reconstruction?
Just about any dental treatment that restores the function or even look of your teeth can be part of a full-mouth reconstruction, but here are some of the more common components of these plans:
- Tooth-colored fillings: These traditional treatments can repair tooth decay and help you use your teeth without pain.
- Dental crowns: If a cavity is too large for a filling, or if a tooth has been damaged enough that there’s a danger of it fracturing apart, dental crowns can both seal up the damaged area and make the tooth strong enough to use normally.
- Dental implants: When you are missing a tooth, dental implants secure a replacement tooth in that space using an implanted titanium root. This provides the same strength and durability as any natural tooth, and it helps keep your jawbone from deteriorating. We can even use a few implants to restore an entire arch or mouth with new teeth.
- Dental bridges: As a less invasive but less permanent alternative to implants, bridges are replacement teeth held in that gap by a pair of dental crowns. But bridges still give you back a smile that looks good and lets you eat normally.
- Dentures: If you’re missing most or all of your teeth on the top or bottom of your mouth, our full and partial dentures can give you back your teeth. We can also attach dentures to implants for maximum stability.
- Orthodontics: Crooked teeth and bite problems (such as an overbite) can look bad and make it harder to have good dental health. Our braces and Invisalign “invisible braces” can help correct both problems.
- Root canals: When the bacteria that cause tooth decay get past the enamel, it can be very painful. Root canals remove that infection, saving the tooth and ending that pain.
Am I A Good Candidate For Full-Mouth Reconstruction?
Since the whole point of a full-mouth reconstruction is to repair all of the problems with your teeth, just about everyone with multiple issues is a good candidate for these plans. Because full-mouth reconstructions can involve surgery, you should be healthy enough for the anesthesia and surgical procedure.
Call either of our two Connecticut offices — Bridgeport/Trumbull at 203-372-1220 or Shelton at 203-378-9737 — or use our online tool to book an appointment and learn more about how full-mouth reconstructions can get you back the look, feel, and function of a healthy mouth.