When it is the right frame
What these share is that fixing one tooth at a time does not work. Rebuild a single worn tooth to its original height and it takes all the force alone and fractures. The sequence has to be planned as a whole.
- Extensive wear from grinding, where teeth have shortened over years
- Multiple failing crowns and large fillings reaching end of life together
- Several missing teeth changing how the bite closes
- Erosion from reflux or diet affecting most surfaces
- A collapsed bite, where the lower face height has reduced
How it is sequenced
- RecordsPhotographs, a CBCT scan, digital scans, and models of how the bite currently closes. This stage produces the plan and it takes a couple of appointments.
- StabiliseAnything actively infected or painful is treated first -- decay, gum disease, failing root canals. Nothing final is built on an unstable foundation.
- Test the new biteOften a removable appliance or temporary restorations, worn for weeks or months, to confirm the proposed bite height is comfortable before anything permanent is made.
- BuildCrowns, implants, bridges or onlays, usually a quadrant or an arch at a time.
- ProtectA nightguard, in almost every case. A reconstruction that ignores the grinding that caused the wear gets worn down again.
Timeline and staging
Months rather than weeks, and often a year for extensive cases where implants are involved and bone has to heal. That is not slowness -- it is the testing stage doing its job.
It can also be staged deliberately for cost, doing the most urgent arch first and the second later. That is a normal way to proceed and worth asking about rather than assuming the whole plan has to be committed to at once.
How the cost is presented
Line by line. Every procedure in the plan appears with its own fee and its own insurance estimate, before anything is agreed, and the total is the sum of parts you can see rather than a single number.
That matters here more than anywhere else on this site, because these plans are large. You should be able to point at any line and ask what happens if it is left out, and get an answer.
Common questions
Asked at the front desk.
How long does a full mouth reconstruction take?
Months, and often a year where implants are involved and bone has to heal. Much of that is the testing stage, where a proposed bite is worn temporarily before anything permanent is made.
Can it be done in stages to spread the cost?
Yes, commonly. The most urgent arch is done first and the second later. It is worth asking about rather than assuming the whole plan must be committed to at once.
Will I need a nightguard afterwards?
In almost every case. Most reconstructions are treating wear caused by grinding, and rebuilding the teeth without protecting them means wearing them down again.
How is the cost quoted?
Line by line, with each procedure's fee and insurance estimate shown separately before anything is agreed. You should be able to ask what happens if any single line is left out.
Next step
One phone call, and someone answers it.
3608 Carrington Rd #204, West Kelowna. Thursdays until 7pm, Fridays from 7am. Accepting new patients of every age.