Face Lift Dentistry
Los Angeles
This patient from Woodland Hills had gum recession, abscessed teeth, crooked teeth, and a bad bite
Bite Reconstruction
Bite reconstruction becomes very advantageous when a patient reaches about 50 years old or has bite problems at a younger age. This patient had gum recession, abscessed teeth, (requiring root canals) crooked teeth, and a bad bite. His bite could not be corrected with orthodontics because he had an open bite and his teeth actually did not come together. All of his upper teeth, then all of his lower teeth, were each completed in just two visits. Using porcelain crowns, porcelain veneers and porcelain veneer crowns, his bite was completely reconstructed in a total of a couple of months. This made the trips from Woodland Hills entirely worth the effort.
What is a Bite Reconstruction?
When the teeth come together, this is what we refer to as a patient’s bite. Sometimes the patient's bite is not in harmony with the jaw joint, or TMJ. The lack of harmony between the patient’s bite and TMJ leads to bruxism (tooth grinding) and more tooth wear. When a bite is reconstructed, it is harmonized with the TMJ. The new reconstructed bite is ideal for this patient and he also had benefits to his speech. Read more about full mouth reconstruction.
Tongue Thrust During Speech
Speaking can be compromised with a bad, open bite. Look at the before pictures and you can see his tongue. He uses his tongue to speak because his teeth do not fit together very well. When a patient uses his or her tongue to speak, the sounds are not as crisp. Many patients do not speak clearly as they age because their teeth are worn down and their bite is out of balance. This patient not longer needed his tongue after his bite reconstruction and his speech cleared up nicely. At a young age, he went to speech therapy because they thought his tongue could be trained, but the real problem was a bad bite not a bad tongue. The comprehensive diagnosis and treatment plan, and the smooth and efficient level of care made the drive from Woodland Hills an easy choice. He still drives to Santa Monica for his check ups.
For Bite Reconstruction in the Los Angeles area, please call Sam Muslin, DDS MAGD, for a consultation.