In the past, full mouth reconstruction was a procedure reserved for very severe cases. Nowadays, however, more and more patients are finding themselves candidates for this type of procedure. Read on to know the step-by-step, detailed process of full mouth reconstruction.
#1. Step 1 – The Consultation
You need to find a dentist with whom you are comfortable. To find the right dentist, it is recommended that patients search for dentists in their area who have been certified by their state dental board. Also, you should take the time to get familiar with your dentist’s office and ask if they have any general or specific questions that you would like answered before your initial consultation appointment. Write down what you want/don’t want from a mouth reconstruction so that you can bring this information up during the consultation as well.
#2. Step 2 – Diagnosis of Current Condition
A full mouth reconstruction is considered to be an extensive procedure, so your dentist must know your medical history before administering anesthesia. The dentist will also need to know if you are taking any medications or supplements, as certain antibiotics may need to be postponed until after the procedure. Your dentist will then perform a thorough examination on all of your teeth and gums to diagnose any current infections, gum disease, cavities, etc.
#3. Step 3 – Tooth Extraction
During the preparation for mouth reconstruction, some damaged or diseased teeth must be removed. To ensure no damage occurs during the extraction process, the patient’s tooth will first be numbed with local anesthesia applied directly to where they are being extracted. After this has taken place, the tooth will be removed using an extraction tool.
#4. Step 4 – Treating Gum Disease & Infections
After teeth have been extracted, gum disease and infections must be treated because removing diseased tissue from your mouth can impact healing time and future complications that may arise. Initially, after extractions have occurred, your dentist typically prescribes antibiotics to kill existing bacterial infection inside of the bone structure surrounding where the tooth once was.
#5. Step 5 – Temporary Restoration & Prosthesis
To ensure that patients can fully heal, their temporary restoration will be placed onto their teeth immediately following treatment for gum disease/infections or extractions, whichever is deemed necessary at the time. The prosthesis serves an important role in protecting your natural teeth from damage while healing by covering them with a hard shell that prevents other objects from becoming lodged within the tooth’s structure.
#6. Step 6 – Soft Tissue Grafting
After your initial prosthesis has been removed, soft tissue grafting will be done in order to add support and protection where natural teeth once were located. This will take the form of either connective tissue from another part of your mouth or synthetic non-absorbable materials that have been processed to resemble gum-type material.
#7. Step 7 – Bone Grafting
Because bone loss occurs due to extractions, degraded bone can be replaced with calcium and other minerals that your body typically assimilates through healthy teeth and gums.
#8. Steps 8 & 9 – Implant Placement & Crowns
If you decide to go through with implant placement, crowns will need to be placed on top of them to properly protect your new implants while also making it look like you still have all of your teeth. The bottom teeth will receive crowns first because the jawbone structure changes after bone grafting have occurred and eventually needs to be restored for proper function.
#9. Step 10 – Permanent Prostheses (Permanent Bridges)
In this step, a dental specialist creates permanent prostheses, who takes an impression of the jawbone beneath where you used to have teeth. The impression is used to create an accurate replica of the tooth structure that has been replaced in its entirety. Finally, your permanent full-mouth restoration is put into place and bonded onto the surrounding teeth so they are safe from being damaged by occlusion.
Frankly, this is in no way an easy process, nor is it extremely expensive when you consider the number of procedures that need to take place in order for one’s teeth to be reconstructed.