Full mouth rehabilitation can address widespread tooth wear and recurring broken teeth by looking at the bite and the condition of the teeth together. In this patient story from Richardson Dentistry in Richardson, TX, Mark and Dr. Micheal Guirguis discuss why repeated dental problems led to a comprehensive treatment plan combining crowns and veneers, as well as Mark’s experience during treatment and with his new smile.
Mark: I first came to Richardson Dentistry when I moved back to Dallas in 2017. I was just looking for a dentist. I saw them online. I liked the write-up. I liked the doctors. They were young and had just recently bought a new practice.
Mark: I went to them and visited with Mike. I really liked him. He was very kind and patient, asked good questions, and was concerned about how I was doing.
Mark: I’ve always had issues with my teeth where there’s a lot of wear, and some of the crowns were breaking, but he never was pushing me into certain procedures. It became time to really do something about it as I was going forward.
Micheal Guirguis: Mark has been a longtime dental patient at Richardson Dentistry, a patient who would come every six months and took very good care of his teeth. As with most dental patients, every now and then during that six-month visit, he would have a problem that would need to be addressed.
Micheal Guirguis: Over time, we started a conversation with Mark that since these problems were happening more often, how do we take a step back and make sure that we address the root problem that’s causing these issues?
Mark: There was not a lot of pressure. We talked about the different options and his recommendations of what we could do. We went with crowns for the teeth, as that would be a longer-term, more permanent solution and wouldn’t have other maintenance. We went forward with that, but it was my decision. He gave me good advice and good information, so I felt comfortable.
Micheal Guirguis: Mark’s main problem was that he was breaking his teeth. The main problem for people who are breaking their teeth is that their bite is not working for them. Whether that is when they are sitting there, sleeping, or chewing, there’s something that is causing those teeth to break down throughout the life cycle of that tooth. We don’t have an unlimited amount of tooth structure.
Micheal Guirguis: For Mark and me, it was, how do we stop the wear that is happening on his teeth? Ultimately, you can’t fix one tooth at a time when you have generalized wear. Our plan was to formulate a new bite for Mark, a bite that is comfortable for him, where he wakes up with no muscle soreness, can chew comfortably, can eat whatever he wants, and, as everyone always wants, he wanted a nice smile.
Micheal Guirguis: Mark’s full mouth rehabilitation was a combination of crowns and veneers. The veneers were for the teeth that did not have a lot of wear. That’s where we can choose to be minimally invasive.
Micheal Guirguis: For teeth that had a lot of breakdown over the years and needed some more strength or more coverage, that’s where crowns came into place.
Mark: It really wasn’t until we started doing the procedures and the teeth were in the place they were supposed to be that my jaw relaxed and I noticed I was sleeping better. It wasn’t something that I was expecting. It was more of a surprise, and I’m very happy.
Micheal Guirguis: After we began Mark’s treatment, he came back a week or two later. That’s a very casual appointment where we’re checking in on him, seeing if there are any changes he wants to make to the color or shapes of the teeth, and asking how he likes it overall and how his wife likes it.
Micheal Guirguis: Mark came back saying he was very happy. He loved to smile. What made me the happiest is that he said during this temporary phase, while he was in his temporary restorations, for the first time in a long time he woke up with no muscle soreness, and there was nothing that he was not able to eat.
Mark: If I knew somebody looking for a new dentist, I would definitely recommend Richardson Dentistry and have done that on several occasions.
Mark had generalized tooth wear, recurring broken teeth, and crowns that were breaking. As these problems began occurring more frequently, Dr. Micheal Guirguis recommended looking beyond individual teeth to understand the underlying issue. They developed a plan focused on Mark’s bite and the widespread wear affecting his teeth.
Crowns and veneers were selected based on how much wear and breakdown individual teeth had experienced. Dr. Mike used veneers for teeth without significant wear, allowing for a more minimally invasive approach. Crowns were used where teeth had greater breakdown and required more strength or coverage.
Dr. Mike explained that Mark’s bite was an important factor in the repeated breakdown of his teeth. Because the wear was generalized rather than isolated to one tooth, the treatment plan focused on formulating a new bite instead of continuing to address each damaged tooth individually as problems appeared.
Mark said that once treatment began and his teeth were positioned as planned, his jaw felt more relaxed and he noticed he was sleeping better. During the temporary restoration phase, Dr. Mike also reported that Mark said he was waking without muscle soreness and was able to eat comfortably.
No. Mark specifically said there was not a lot of pressure. He and Dr. Mike discussed different treatment options and recommendations, and Mark felt that the final decision remained his. He said the information and advice he received helped him feel comfortable moving forward with treatment.
