In certain cases where there may be worn, broken, missing, or unsightly teeth, gaps between the teeth, or a combination of all or some of the above, a Full Mouth Rehabilitation, or FMR, may be considered. FMR is an extremely comprehensive overhaul of the teeth and occlusion, which is another term for the “bite.”
A combination of mulitple disciplines and treatment options may be employed to render the desired result in an FMR. These options would typically include some combination of crowns, bridges, and dental implants.
In many cases, FMR is done to re-establish a more appropriate size and shape to the teeth once they’ve been worn down after many years of clenching and grinding, also known as bruxism or parafunction. Once the teeth have been worn down, the entire vertical height of the bite, or what is known as the vertical dimension of occlusion, or VDO, collapses.
Most people do not realize this, but the height of lower third of the entire face is actually determined by the height of the teeth, and therefore the VDO. When the teeth become worn down after many years, the lower third of the face actually appears collapsed or concave from the profile view. To illustrate this point, please visualize in your mind’s eye a patient who wears dentures. When a denture wearer removes their dentures, his or her face appears “sunken in” or concave. This is because the loss of all the teeth has led to a total loss of the VDO.
The only way to open the bite back up to restore the proper VDO is through FMR. For an edentulous patient, or a patient who has no teeth, this can be accomplished with dentures or a variety of tooth replacement options involving dental implants. For a dentate patient, or a patient who has their teeth, this is accomplished through FMR.
FMR can be an amazing and beautiful way to restore optimal esthetics and proper function to help you achieve the smile you’ve always wanted!
Full Mouth Rehabilitation Example 1: Mike
This patient’s smile and bite were drastically improved with a Full Mouth Rehabilitation utilizing a combination of crowns, bridges, and dental implants. In the “Before” photos, one can easily see the severe wear and tear on the teeth, mismatched crowns, as well as numerous missing posterior teeth making everyday chewing a major challenge. By rehabilitating this patient’s teeth with crowns and replacing the missing teeth with a combination of bridges and implants, not only did was Dr. Manduzzi able to achieve an amazing cosmetic result, but the patient can now properly chew again and smile with confidence! This was truly life-changing for this patient!
Full Mouth Rehabilitation Example 2: Ron
