In his late 50’s, and 60 looming, Paul (real name withheld for privacy) decided it was time to fix his teeth. Paul worked a high stress, long hour’s job and to cope with this he enjoyed marathon running. Paul would often consume sport drinks and high sugar gels during events.
The combination of bruxing (grinding his teeth) due to the pressures of the job and the acid erosion due to the sport drinks, resulted in softened teeth that were ground down by at least half their original length. Multiple fillings had failed, some teeth had broken and Paul no longer smiled to hide the appearance of his teeth.
Paul did not have the time for the hours it takes to crown the teeth so after much discussion he decided upon a composite rehabilitation – rebuilding teeth with composite resin or white filling material to reconstruct the teeth.
Composite rehabilitation and rebuilding teeth involves removing old fillings, and roughening the teeth, minimal tooth structure is removed making it a very conservative form of reconstruction. Composite resin is then bonded to the teeth directly.
The Treatment Plan:
Day 1 (4 hours): Open the bite – Paul had become what we call “over closed”, to build the teeth back to their original height the bite had to be opened.
The top front 6 teeth were rebuilt first to the aesthetic smile guidelines – following these ensures the smile will look fantastic.
Day 2 (5 hours): The top back teeth (7 teeth) either side were rebuilt to their original height and an even bite plan established.
The very back top tooth was missing, but this did not require replacement. This tooth is subject to enormous pressures and is a high failure rate tooth, explaining why Paul already had this tooth removed.
Paul allowed 1 week to adapt to the new height of the bite. It is very easy for most people to adapt within a few days to changes to the bite.
Day 3 (4 hours): Paul returned the following week to rebuild the lower 6 front teeth to the original height.
Day 4 (5 hours): Finally the remaining lower back teeth were re-built to achieve an even bite plan and a restored smile.
With Pauls bite now restored, he chose to replace the two lower missing back teeth with implants.
What can Paul expect in the future?
•Paul now has the option in the future to replace any of the composite resin rebuilds with porcelain crowns.
•The normal life expectancy of composite resin reconstructions is excellent
•We can expect to rebuild at least one of the teeth every couple of years depending on the pressures the teeth are under. This is often the perfect time to individually convert teeth over to stronger porcelain crowns if desired.
Paul has now stopped his sport drinks, increased his water intake and wears a night guard to protect the teeth from grinding.
(Real name and images withheld for privacy) Every surgical or invasive procedure caries risk and may not be suitable for everyone.