The term “full mouth reconstruction” is a bit daunting. If it’s something you’ve researched and thought about, you’ve likely already had some adverse experience with oral surgeries like tooth extractions or facial trauma repair in your life. The idea of undergoing several procedures to restore your mouth’s look, function and structure might sound just awful. But more than anything, the process is just slow and expensive. But it’s always worth it.
As a full mouth reconstruction dentist, we’re here to help you with your concerns and satisfy your curiosity about what it takes to bring a dead and damaged smile back to life. And as an oral surgery practice focused in state-of-the-art, holistic tooth replacement, we’ll formulate a comprehensive mouth reconstruction plan that is time and cost effective, as minimally-invasive as possible, and gets you the long-term results you’re looking for.
As the name implies, full mouth reconstruction is often an extensive series of oral surgeries. It’s the process of building or replacing all or nearly all of the teeth in your mouth. It often includes first building or rebuilding your jawbone with dental bone grafts so that the subsequent surgeries are optimized by a strong and healthy base. General or restorative dentists and maxillofacial surgeons can build you a brand new smile from scratch.
What is Full Mouth Reconstruction?
Everyone’s mouth is unique. Therefore, every treatment plan we make to fully reconstruct the teeth is custom prescribed to each individual patient. It can vary according to your needs, dental insurance, and budget. The treatment usually involves a variety of maxillofacial surgery procedures, including:
- Dental crowns
- Dental implants
- Dentures
- Dental Bridges
- Dental veneers
- Inlays and onlays
- Bone grafts to rebuild the jaw
- Soft tissue grafts to protect sockets or repair damage at the gum line
- With facial trauma, plates, screws and other installations might be necessary to stabilize the sinuses, cheek bones, orbital sockets, etc.
While treatment plans may vary, depending on the patient and the full mouth reconstruction dentist, the end result is generally the same: a fully restored smile that’s as beautiful as you remember it. Our treatment allows for healing, both physical and emotional so you can look as beautiful and personable as you remember.
Deciding on Your Goals for Your Mouth Restoration
When considering full mouth reconstruction, one of the first things you should do is envision your goals. These may be functional, aesthetic, or health-related. You should discuss these with your full mouth reconstruction dentist.
Are you looking to restore chewing ability, recharge your personal appearance, or improve your overall health that may have suffered due to tooth loss? The answers may be different for each individual. Speak with your oral surgeon about what you hope to get out of this experience. Share your goals and vision. The more you can inform the maxillofacial surgeon reconstructing your mouth on what you need, what you expect and what you can afford, the better they can tailor a plan specific to restoring your smile.
Full Mouth Reconstruction: Is This a Want or a Need?
We’re not going to lie – full mouth reconstruction, otherwise known as a smile makeover, can be an expensive and involved treatment. Depending on your needs and goals, there may be other alternatives to consider. Crooked teeth, for example, may be better addressed through braces and orthodontics. Chipped teeth might use a bit of dental bonding.
Even though we preach the good news of dental implants wherever we go, whenever possible, keeping a natural tooth is ideal to extracting one. There’s no reason to extract discolored or slightly crooked teeth – we can cover them with veneers or use another method that doesn’t even require an oral surgery.
On the other hand, undergoing the procedures necessary to fully reconstruct a damaged mouth can seriously change your life. Even if you are in your sunset years, this approach to oral surgery will restore your smile to function and form so you look and feel great.
Talk to your full mouth reconstruction dentist about your goals and priorities for the surgery; Dr. Puckett will be able to design an approach that better suits your needs and purposes.
How Long Does it Take to Fully Reconstruct a Smile?
The length of the treatment plan depends on the amount of treatment and your body’s healing time. Full mouth reconstruction can vary with each individual, so it’s difficult to say how long it can take. But you should expect at least a month long treatment. More often than not, we’re dealing with several steps, so multiple additional procedures are necessary. You can discuss the prognosis with the surgeon performing your full mouth reconstruction.
How Much Does A Whole Mouth Restoration Cost?
This again depends on your treatment plan and needs. Some of the treatment may be covered by your insurance, depending if the treatment is needed for health, functional or purely cosmetic reasons. But let’s be honest – nobody chooses to have their mouth fully reconstructed for purely aesthetic reasons. If you’re staring down an unhealthy smile and an unstable jaw, these oral and maxillofacial procedures are necessary for health and quality of life, which is why we work with insurance companies to make sure you’re getting the most of your coverage.
Keep in mind that we are able to offer more affordable dental implants than most, and that in any procedure, the sedation we use for the oral surgery is billed per minute used and not per standard increments. These measures can significantly decrease the cost of full mouth reconstruction, making it a real possibility for more patients than ever before.
The best approach is to come in for a consultation. We can discuss treatment options that can vary according to your needs, budget, and health insurance options. We can craft a treatment that’s friendly to your budget. Because we take a creative and unique approach to treatment, we can usually find a more affordable approach to dental implants and full mouth reconstruction than what’s standard.
Determining a Budget for Your Smile Reconstruction
We’re not going to lie to you; full mouth reconstruction is an expensive process. But the cost greatly depends on your treatment plan. If money is a limiting factor, it’s best to first decide on a budget. Our oral surgeons can design you a plan that can restore your smile within your price point. We can work with you.
For example, rather than doing multiple dental implants, we might consider a dental implant bridge, which is a bridge secured to your jawbone by two implants on either side. This is a more affordable approach than doing multiple dental implants, which can cost thousands of dollars each.
Making Full Mouth Reconstruction Affordable for Our Cincinnati Patients
We understand this is an expensive procedure. But we can usually work with you to help the treatment more affordably fit your budget. Most oral surgeons accept payment plans, depending on the circumstances. Other payment options include CareCredit, a line of credit specially designed for medical expenses like full mouth reconstruction. You might also consider taking out a line of credit with your bank.
At Wilmington Oral Surgery, we do everything we can to mitigate costs, minimize surgeries needed, and use holistic treatment methods to replace teeth and repair your mouth from the inside out. Everyone deserves a beautiful, healthy, functional smile, and we take every measure throughout the process to ensure each patient who needs a full mouth reconstruction gets the care they need and the results they deserve.
A full mouth reconstruction seems like a big undertaking, but we can help simplify the process and take the mystery out. With Dr. Puckett and his dedicated staff, the oral surgeries and maxillofacial procedures we offer for mouth restoration are unmatched in cost and quality
