Full Mouth Rehabilitation Helps Restore Your Smile in Simple Steps
Millions of Americans are affected by edentulism because they didn’t care about plaque buildup on their teeth or gum disease. Some medical conditions like diabetes, hypertension, and rheumatoid arthritis also contribute to edentulism. Edentulism is challenging to deal with because it causes nutritional changes, obesity, coronary heart disease, and some types of cancer.
People with edentulism must consider a procedure highly recommended by dentists like full mouth rehabilitation Encinitas, CA. Complete mouth rehabilitation techniques enable dentists to restore an entire upper or lower arch of teeth. After healing from the process, patients experience complete restoration of their mouth’s earlier functions. The thought of undergoing a full mouth rehabilitation may scare patients, but the process is not as complicated as believed. In reality, complete mouth rehabilitation procedures use dental implants paired with implant-supported dentures, and the method is as easy as a breeze.
How to Begin the Procedure for Full Mouth Rehabilitation?
If you need an entire mouth rehabilitation procedure, you must begin consulting with the dentist in Encinitas, CA, an experienced cosmetic dentist who successfully performs these procedures. During your smile design consultation appointment, you can expect the dentist to examine existing teeth remaining in your mouth and your gums. Also, expect some questions about your treatment goals, current medications, and entire medical history.
The dentist takes x-rays to determine the bone mass in your jaw and CBCT scans to view the underlying structures. The information is essential for the dentist to decide whether you are a suitable candidate for full mouth rehabilitation.
If deemed suitable and consent to the treatment, the dentist explains the treatment plan, answers any questions you have, and discusses what you can expect. The procedure is scheduled for a later date with instructions on how to prepare before your appointment. You may require to fast before the procedure and may receive prescriptions for sedative drugs to take before the process.
Full Mouth Rehabilitation
On the day of your scheduled appointment, you arrive at the dental facility for the procedure. Your dentist sedates and anesthetizes you to relax and make you comfortable. You do not recollect the dental procedure depending on the level of sedation you receive. If you have decayed or damaged teeth remaining in your mouth, they are extracted before the process.
After dental extractions, your dentist places four to six dental implants on both the top and bottom dental arch. The implants are artificial tooth roots created from titanium screws. Dental implant placement happens by making tiny incisions in the gums, shaping the remaining socket, and inserting the implant into it. After placing the implant, dentists generally screw a connector piece to the titanium post. Your gums are sutured over the implants and around the connector piece. However, the connector piece remains visible above the gum line. A repetition of the process is required until all the necessary implants are placed. After that, a temporary denture is provided.
Recovering from Full Mouth Rehabilitation
Recovering from full mouth rehabilitation requires you to experience soreness and swelling in the first few days following the procedure. Most patients don’t report significant pain after implant placement but need over-the-counter pain medicines to relieve any discomfort.
Initially, it would help if you remained on a soft foods diet for the first couple of weeks after implant placement. Your dentist will recommend when you can incorporate more complex foods into your diet eventually. When you have dental implants, it is incredibly essential for you to follow the post-operative guidelines to ensure the implant doesn’t move.
Dental implants must undergo a healing process known as osseointegration lasting for three to six months. Osseointegration helps the implant fuse with the surrounding bone to give you a stable base for your artificial teeth. Dental implant placements are only considered successful after osseointegration is complete. You can cause your implants to fail by exerting too much pressure on them too soon.
After your dental implants have healed entirely, the dentist takes a dental impression or oral scan to fabricate your permanent implant-supported dentures.
As can be seen, full mouth rehabilitation is not as challenging as you may think. The entire process is completed in simple steps, leaving you with a solution to the problem of edentulism in a few visits to the dentist’s office.