Patient-centered Specialty Services in Moreno Valley, CA
Why race across town to dentists when you don’t know when you can get top-quality specialty dental services right here?
We provide comprehensive, specialized dental care in one familiar place.
Full mouth rehabilitation aims to address several issues – including those involving the gums, muscles, bones, and teeth – at the same time to completely restore health, function, and beauty to a smile. Through our specialty dental services, we provide comprehensive care tailored to your needs. Even if it has been years since you’ve had the dental care you need, there is no need to be embarrassed about the condition of your smile. No matter your dental issues or how you got to this point, our dental team will determine a treatment plan to bring function and beauty back to your smile. Through full mouth rehabilitation at our practice, you can once again smile with confidence.
Who is a Candidate?
Candidates for full mouth rehabilitation include those who have problems with all or many of their teeth. Good candidates are also those individuals who are prepared for what can be a lengthy process, sometimes requiring multiple procedures over several months or even years.
Some of the problems that full mouth rehabilitation addresses include:
- Missing teeth
- Cracked, chipped, decayed or otherwise damaged teeth
- Jaw or TMJ (temporomandibular joint) problems
- Severely worn teeth due to grinding or a misaligned bite
- Extensive erosion of tooth enamel
- Issues resulting from traumatic injury
Your Personalized Consultation
Don’t be embarrassed about the condition of your smile. With more than 12 years of experience as a dentist, there is little that our dental team hasn’t seen. During your personalized full mouth rehabilitation consultation, we will perform a comprehensive examination of your mouth and speak with you about your goals. We will also explain what is involved in the process, making sure that you understand how much time it can take and how many procedures are involved to achieve the optimal outcome.
After the initial consultation and examination, our dental team will prepare several treatment plans for you to choose from.
Full Mouth Rehabilitation Procedures
Full mouth rehabilitation may include any of the general, cosmetic, or restorative dentistry procedures offered in our dental office. Some of the most common treatment options included in full mouth rehabilitation include:
- Dental implants to replace missing teeth.
- Porcelain veneers and/or crowns to conceal flaws and add strength to teeth.
- Teeth cleaning and periodontal treatment to restore dental health.
- Invisalign® orthodontics to correct gaps and misalignments.
- Treatment for TMJ disorder to relieve discomfort and prevent tooth damage that can be caused by clenching and grinding.
Full mouth rehabilitation patients can also take advantage of the sedation dentistry options available at our dental office, including oral conscious sedation and nitrous oxide. Both sedation options will allow you to remain conscious during your procedures while helping you remain relaxed and comfortable.
Recovery from Full Mouth Rehabilitation
Recovery time will depend on your personalized treatment plan. Full mouth rehabilitation is often an ongoing process, requiring several procedures over the course of months or years to achieve optimal results. Although procedures can sometimes be combined, as they are with a smile makeover, doing so can have less than ideal results with full mouth rehabilitation. Since the procedures are often very complex and may involve the entire mouth, it is important to allow adequate healing time before proceeding to the next procedure. You may be anxious to have your smile restored as quickly as possible; however, Dr. Blackmon prefers to take extra time to make sure each procedure is done right and produces the desired results before moving on to the next step.
No one wants to lose their teeth, but sometimes, an extraction is necessary as part of specialty dental services to restore and maintain the health of your smile. Extractions are never your dentist’s first choice, but in certain situations, the preservation of your oral health may be dependent on it.
Reasons Why Tooth Extractions Are Necessary
We always do everything we can to help patients keep their natural teeth, but sometimes it isn’t a viable option. Here are a few reasons why a tooth extraction may be necessary to restore your overall dental health and function:
- There is severe damage or decay to the tooth that is irreparable.
- To allow for a patient to undergo orthodontic treatment.
- For ensuring long-term success with a restoration, like a denture.
- When a primary tooth won’t fall out on its own.
- If a tooth is impacted and unable to erupt properly.
Ultimately, by extracting problematic teeth, future infections and other oral health issues are significantly less likely to occur.
The Process of Removing a Tooth
Teeth are generally removed by either pulling or surgical extraction. Teeth can only be “pulled” when they have fully emerged from the gumline. In this case, we will start by numbing the area around your tooth and use a clasping tool to shift the tooth around until it breaks away from the gumline. If pulling isn’t a possibility, the tooth will need to be surgically extracted. For this procedure, a small incision is made into your gum tissue to allow us the ability to reach enough of your tooth to fully remove it.
To determine which extraction method would be necessary for you, come see us for a consultation where we can evaluate your smile. In the process of discussing the extraction, we will also talk about necessary tooth replacement options to prevent future oral health issues as a result of tooth loss.
Tooth Extraction Aftercare
Before you leave the practice, we will provide you with a specific aftercare plan to help you stay comfortable and avoid complications. While every case is different, here are some steps that we will generally recommend for optimal recovery:
- Take recommended over-the-counter and prescribed medications as directed
- Rinse with saltwater 24 hours after your procedure
- Avoid using tobacco products until your mouth has healed
- Do not drink using a straw
- Elevate your head while sleeping
- Get plenty of rest
- Apply a cold compress to reduce swelling and discomfort
- Stay away from hard, crunchy, and sticky foods
Temporomandibular Disorder (TMD)
Millions of Americans suffer from chronic facial and neck pain as well as recurring headaches. In some cases, this pain is due to Temporomandibular Disorder, or TMD.
Your temporomandibular joints (TMJ) connect your lower jawbone to your skull. These joints get a lot of use throughout the day as you speak, chew, swallow, and yawn. Pain in and around these joints can be unpleasant and may even restrict movement.
Symptoms Of TMD Include:
- Pain in the jaw area
- Pain, ringing, or stuffiness in the ears
- Frequent headaches or neck aches
- Clicking or popping sound when the jaw moves
- Swelling on the sides of the face
- Muscle spasms in the jaw area
- A change in the alignment of top and bottom teeth
- Locked jaw or limited opening of the mouth
Should you notice any of these symptoms, let your doctor know. Your dentist can help indicate the presence of TMD and create an effective treatment just for you.
There are a few simple steps you can take at home or work to prevent TMD from becoming more severe, or to prevent it from occurring:
- Relax your face — remember the rule: “Lips together, teeth apart”
- Avoid grinding your teeth
- Avoid constant gum chewing
- Don’t cradle the phone receiver between your head and shoulder — either use a headset or hold the receiver in your hand
- Chew food evenly on both sides of your mouth
- Do not sit with your chin rested on your hand
- Practice good posture — keep your head up, back straight, and shoulders squared
Wisdom teeth are types of molars found in the very back of your mouth. They usually appear in the late teens or early twenties, but may become impacted (fail to erupt) due to lack of room in the jaw or angle of entry. When a wisdom tooth is impacted, it may need to be removed. If it is not removed, you may develop gum tenderness, swelling, or even severe pain. Impacted wisdom teeth that are partially or fully erupted tend to be quite difficult to clean and are susceptible to tooth decay, recurring infections, and even gum disease.
Wisdom teeth are typically removed in the late teens or early twenties because there is a greater chance that the teeth’s roots have not fully formed and the bone surrounding the teeth is less dense. These two factors can make extraction easier as well as shorten the recovery time.
In order to remove a wisdom tooth, your dentist first needs to numb the area around the tooth with a local anesthetic. Since the impacted tooth may still be under the gums and embedded in your jaw bone, your dentist will need to remove a portion of the covering bone to extract the tooth. In order to minimize the amount of bone that is removed with the tooth, your dentist will often “section” your wisdom tooth so that each piece can be removed through a small opening in the bone. Once your wisdom teeth have been extracted, the healing process begins. Depending on the degree of difficulty related to the extraction, healing time varies. Your dentist will share with you what to expect and provide instructions for a comfortable, efficient healing process.