If your smile is doing poorly, you may plan to get a full mouth reconstruction. This option combines several restorative services into one procedure. Still, you may wonder how its recovery process works. Such details, after all, help you know what to expect after treatment. Luckily enough, your Moses Lake dentist is here to give you a rundown. Read on, then, to learn what recovering from full mouth reconstruction looks like based on its potential services.
Crowns & Bridges
If you suffer from dental damage or tooth loss, your reconstruction may include crowns or bridges. These restorations can cover up decayed areas and fill in gaps between teeth. Typically, placing them takes two or more dental visits to ensure effective results.
Following crown or bridge placement, you may experience some sensitivity. This effect is normal and fades within a few days. Otherwise, you’ll be well enough to resume everyday life right after treatment.
Dental Fillings
For teeth with moderate decay, a reconstruction may offer dental fillings. This latter option “fills in” missing tooth structure to repair and restore a pearly white. A dentist can usually perform it in a single office visit.
Once fillings are placed, you can resume normal activities right away. The anesthesia used for treatment only needs an hour or two to wear off. From there, you should feel just fine.
Root Canal Therapy
Your reconstruction might need to treat a tooth infection. If so, your dentist will likely perform root canal therapy – a procedure that removes infected pulp from your chomper. They’ll then follow up this service with a filling and a crown.
After a root canal, odds are your treatment site will feel a bit sensitive. It may also be a bit swollen or inflamed. Rest assured, though, that these side effects are temporary. They typically diminish within a couple of days.
Tooth Extraction
Should your tooth be too damaged or infected, reconstruction will require a tooth extraction. This procedure (per its name) safely and carefully pulls a chomper from its socket. Once done, the dentist will clean out any infection in the area.
In the short term, tooth extraction recovery takes about a week. Your gum tissue needs at least a few days to close over the socket. As such, you can expect to feel normal again around the third or fifth day of healing.
As you can see, recovering from full mouth reconstruction is crucial. Be careful as you heal from any of the procedures above!
About the Author
Dr. Craig R. Harder is a dentist in Moses Lake, WA, having earned his DDS from the Creighton University Dental School. He is also a contributing author for Dental Economics, a leading journal in the field of dentistry. His specialties are preventive, cosmetic, and restorative services, as well as emergency smile care. Dr. Harder currently practices at Moses Lake Family Dentistry and is reachable on his website or by phone at (509)-765-4351.