Reconstructive Dentistry

When a patient needs reconstructive dentistry, our priority is the patient’s dental health. However, reconstructive dentistry includes restoring the teeth and smile cosmetically, as well. After the health of the smile, the patient’s top concern is usually cosmetic, which is why our Digital Smile Design technology is so popular. Here is a full mouth reconstruction patient seeing her new smile for the first time during a consultation using our Digital Smile Design technology.

Preventive dentistry is the best way to maintain the health and beauty of your teeth. By avoiding tooth decay and tooth wear, you can keep your natural teeth for life. But it’s not always possible to avoid tooth decay or trauma. And that’s when we call on reconstructive dentistry. With modern techniques, technologies, and materials, it’s now possible to do more with reconstructive dentistry. Virtually any damage to your smile can now be restored to give you beautiful, healthy, functional teeth.

A common reason patients need reconstructive dentistry is tooth decay.  Tooth decay is caused by oral bacteria, which eat sugars and other carbohydrates in the food we eat. These bacteria then form biofilms that cling to your teeth and excrete acid. The acid attacks your teeth, removing minerals from them and eventually creating small holes called cavities. Small cavities are typically treated with fillings. Currently, we use tooth-colored fillings to repair cavities. This may be a composite resin filling or a ceramic inlay or onlay depending on the location of the cavity, the size of the cavity, and your preferences. As a cavity grows, or if new decay develops around an old filling, the tooth may lose structural integrity. When this occurs, we will replace or supplement fillings with a dental crown. A dental crown completely covers the visible surface of the tooth and can protect it from future decay to a great extent. If decay progresses too far before we manage to put a crown on, it can penetrate into the internal chamber of the tooth, the area where the living part of the tooth, called the pulp, is found. When this occurs, your tooth will become infected. As bacteria grow inside the tooth, it can cause terrible pain, and the infection can spread to your brain, heart, or lungs if it’s not treated soon enough. Fortunately, we can remove the infection and restore the tooth to full function and beauty with root canal therapy. When this is done, the treated tooth may continue to be in your mouth for decades or more.

Reconstructive dentistry sometimes is required after trauma to the mouth or teeth.  Accidental trauma such as a car accident or a fall can cause tooth trauma. While a tooth that has sustained a minor chip can be repaired with dental bonding or porcelain veneers, more serious damage may require the structural support of a dental crown.

Sometimes when we cannot save your tooth, we will perform a tooth extraction. If you have lost one or more teeth, we can replace teeth with fully functional and highly attractive restorations such as dental implants, which is the standard of care for tooth replacement. Dental implants fully restore the function of the lost tooth and have a natural look and feel.  Dental bridges are also an option for tooth replacement.

Full mouth reconstruction by Dr. Marzban is an excellent course of action if you have experienced severe damage to multiple teeth, affecting most or even all your teeth. Dr. Marzban’s training and experience in creating beauty, balance, and breath (airway posture) for her patients makes her an ideal dentist to perform both the health and cosmetic aspects of full mouth reconstruction.

In a full mouth reconstruction with Dr. Marzban, the patient experiences her training in creating a balanced bite.  For some patients, this will correct years of temporomandibular joint disorder which is the outcome of dysfunction in the jaw joint.  Assuring the correct bite is also vital to airway-centric dentistry to assure that your airway is properly formed.  For some patients, this will correct obstructive sleep apnea, which is the result of a malformed airway.  These components, which assure balance and breath form the foundation of Dr. Marzban’s full mouth reconstruction process.

With the healthy structure in place, Dr. Marzban’s more than twenty years of experience as a cosmetic dentist allow her to complete the full mouth reconstruction with excellent aesthetics.  The full mouth reconstruction is an involved process, but the results give patients full function and beauty back, which is a great reward.  Full mouth reconstruction is frequently a major positive life change and, for some, a second chance at oral health and beauty.

Are you looking for a reconstructive dentist in Fairfax County? Please click here or call 703-349-4277 today for an appointment with Dr. Pamela Marzban in Burke, VA.