In dentistry, a full mouth reconstruction is a series of corrective procedures and restorations intended to rebuild a patient's bite. This can be the preferable (and perhaps only) course of action when a patient's dental health is in a state of advanced deterioration. Please don't be alarmed if you're in a position where you require a full mouth reconstruction. Although this isn't an ideal position to be in, modern dentistry has numerous options for restoring your smile. 

Thorough Assessment

In planning such comprehensive work, a thorough assessment of your dental health is needed, involving x-rays that pay particular attention to your jawbone (and whether loss of density or bone loss has occurred), your gum tissues (looking for evidence of periodontal disease), and your teeth (whether any have already been lost, and the structural state of those remaining). 

Gum Disease

A treatment plan can now be formulated, and this can use a variety of different methods, all working towards the same goal. Your dentist might start with a deep dental cleaning to remove accumulated bacterial plaque from your teeth, which should restore the health of your gum tissues. Your dentist will also probe the gingival pockets that have likely developed between your gums and the fronts and rears of your teeth. When teeth pull away from the gums it can indicate more serious periodontal disease, which can lead to a reduction in the mass of your jaw—and this can destabilize teeth.

Remaining Teeth

The stability of your remaining teeth will play a big role in deciding the best treatment plan. It might be possible that your remaining teeth are in such a state of deterioration that preserving them isn't practical. Should the teeth have deteriorated to the stage where their pulp (inner nerve) has been exposed and infected, multiple root canals (pulp removal) might be needed before the teeth can have their surfaces restored. As mentioned, treatment of this nature isn't always practical.

Tooth Extraction

Your dentist may suggest another route, which is the extraction of your remaining teeth. This probably sounds drastic, but it permits another form of restoration which is more predictable, less time and labor-intensive, and has a better success rate. Immediately following the extraction, your dentist will install a series of four dental implants in your upper and lower jaws. These implants then anchor a full dental bridge of prosthetic teeth, which are installed shortly after your implant surgery. 

With implant-supported dental bridges, your mouth has now been fully reconstructed in a way that's more efficient than trying to preserve the individual structures of all your damaged teeth. The best way to reconstruct a patient's mouth can certainly vary, but extracting teeth to create a clean slate can deliver the best results.