tips for adjusting to dentures

What might you think when your dentist tells you that you need a full mouth reconstruction? Though your teeth have seen better days, some may be clearly wearing away, maybe quite a few of them are even missing. However, you may assume that a full mouth reconstruction is a procedure for someone who has knocked all their teeth out? If that is the case, here is what you should know.

Multidisciplinary Dentistry

If you were involved in an accident that resulted in the loss of multiple teeth, then you would be a candidate for a full mouth reconstruction. However, this isn't the exclusive purpose of the process. The process itself is a form of multidisciplinary dentistry, utilizing different procedures with different aims, with the end goal of reconstructing a person's smile after it has been severely compromised due to periodontal disease or after an accident. 

Your Specific Needs

Many dental offices now have the ability to digitally simulate the end result of your reconstruction, giving you a picture of how your smile will look once the recommended work has been performed. The precise nature of the work can vary quite a lot, and it depends on a patient's specific needs, such as replacing missing teeth, the need for a crown, or veneers and bonding.

Replacing Missing Teeth

Missing teeth will need to be replaced, and dental implants may be utilized to achieve this, although bone grafting can be required to ensure that your jaw has sufficient density to anchor the implant. Dental bridges can also be used to replace missing teeth, but these are anchored to teeth on either side of the gap, which are required to be abutment teeth. Dental crowns will generally be added to these teeth, restoring them while giving them the necessary structural strength to act as abutment teeth.

Dental Crowns

Dental crowns are widely-used in full mouth reconstructions, as this is the most efficient way to salvage teeth that have deteriorated while remaining in place. These teeth may or may not require root canals prior to having the crowns installed, and it depends on the health of the dental pulp (nerve) inside each tooth. Not all restorations require crowns, however.

Veneers and Bonding

Dental veneers can be added to teeth that are still functional but require an aesthetic restoration. In addition, teeth can often be restored using dental bonding, which is when the tooth is rebuilt using a tooth-colored composite resin. This can be effective for teeth that have been subjected to wear and tear, resulting in the loss of a tooth's vertical dimension.

However, you will not receive all these forms of restoration at the same time. In most cases, full mouth reconstruction is staggered, allowing for ample recovery time between each stage of the process. But when all the stages have been completed, your formerly run-down set of teeth will have been reconstructed to their former glory. For more information about full mouth reconstruction, contact a dentist.