Full-Mouth Reconstruction for a Lifetime of Oral Health

A full-mouth reconstruction may sound serious, but the procedure can alleviate a host of problems from traumatic injury to migraines. While the most obvious cause for a full-mouth reconstruction would be to repair a serious dental injury, there are many other reasons to perform this procedure. Some of these include:

• Missing, broken, or severely worn teeth
• Advanced gum disease or recession
• Sore, aching muscles
• Painful joints
• Migraines or chronic headaches

As you can see, a full-mouth restoration is a lot more than just replacing a few lost teeth. This procedure is a comprehensive approach to treating your mouth with the goal of creating the correct relationship between gums, bones, muscles, and teeth. The first step is to perform an individual smile evaluation to determine the health of each part of your mouth, including:

Teeth: Decay is not the only danger to your teeth. Acidic erosion, cracks or chips, root canal infections, and severe wear from grinding can all wreak havoc on your teeth. Oftentimes, these problems attack multiple teeth, weakening the health of your entire mouth.

Gums: Gum disease affects 75% of Americans at some point in their lifetimes, making this examination all the more necessary. Repairing your teeth won't help if there is no healthy foundation to anchor them. If plaque and tartar have accumulated below the gum-line, they may have infected, inflamed, and eroded the gum tissue. Brushing too hard and teeth-grinding can also cause recession of the gums.

Muscles & joints: The temporomandibular joint (TMJ) controls the movement of your jaws for chewing, speaking, and clenching. This joint and its surrounding muscles can become compromised from injury or more commonly, nighttime grinding (bruxism). Stress to this area has been known to cause serious headaches, earaches, and soreness.

Jawbone: The jawbone works with the gums to hold teeth in place, making it very important to the infrastructure of the face. When teeth are lost due to decay, injury, or infection, the bone that was holding them in place will lose stability and deteriorate. The same is true when advanced gum disease spreads, corrupting not only the gums, but the connective tissues and bones surrounding them.

Bite: A misaligned bite is more than just an achy irritation. Crowded or crooked teeth, shifted teeth, and poorly restored teeth can all cause an uneven bite. This discomfort often results in an unconscious grinding and clenching of the jaw, causing bruxism, muscle and joint pain, and worn teeth. The relationship between the bite, teeth, and jaw is key to a comfortable and healthy smile.

After a thorough examination of each component of your mouth, your dentist can formulate a customized plan to rehabilitate your smile. You will be briefed on each part of the procedure, and it is even possible to preview the end result with a computer-generated model. Some of the procedures that may be necessary in a full-mouth reconstruction are:

• Orthodontics for crooked teeth or bite misalignment.
• Tooth restorations such as root canals, crowns, and composites.
• Cosmetic enhancements such as whitening, enamel contouring, or veneers.
• Dental implants, bridges, or dentures.
• Scaling and root planing of the gums.
• Tissue grafting for severe gum recession.
• Contouring of the gum tissue.
• Orthognathic surgery to reposition the jaw.
• Bone grafting for a deteriorated jawbone.

More invasive techniques, such as bone grafting or jaw surgery, can take weeks or months to complete, but in some cases a full-mouth restoration can be completed in just a few visits. Your dentist will take every measure to ensure your comfort and satisfaction throughout the procedure. If an orthognathic surgery seems daunting, for instance, you can work with your dentist to find a simple alternative, such as an NTI appliance - an oral apparatus that prevents you from clenching and grinding at night. Every smile is unique and every patient has very different expectations. Whatever your concerns or hopes may be when it comes to the health of your mouth, rest assured that an answer can be found. A full-mouth reconstruction may be just the ticket to achieve a lifetime of comfortable (and beautiful) smiles.

Find out more at http://www.drjuliefurber.com/full-mouth-reconstruction/ , or visit http://www.drjuliefurber.com/ .