Cosmetic Dentistry Archives - Page 7 of 7 - Eggert Family Dentistry Blog

Full Mouth Reconstruction – Tim’s Story

By: Dr. Elizabeth Eggert

How did Eggert Family Dentistry meet Tim?


Before	After

Tim came to us as an established patient at one of his routine exams. He was experiencing increasing tooth sensitivity and pain throughout his mouth. He had noticed his teeth had become shorter over the years. Dr. Elizabeth noted excessive wear throughout his mouth and recommended Tim go through Dr. Eggert’s records process so she could delve deeper into the underlying causes behind his cracking, breaking, and sensitive teeth.

What did Tim want?

Tim had noticed a lot more wear in the last decade and wanted healthy and comfortable teeth again. He also wanted better-looking teeth. Specifically, Tim wanted his teeth to be whiter, more even, and to function better. He had many worn teeth, and wanted a comprehensive plan for restoring them.

What was revealed during the records process?

Dr. Elizabeth used models, photos, and x-rays of Tim’s teeth along with our thorough muscle and joint evaluation to present Tim with the current health of his teeth, gums, and the function of his jaw and muscles. The details of the records process revealed the position of Tim’s teeth caused multiple interferences. He was biting down unevenly, causing the breakdown of his teeth. Dr. Elizabeth was also suspicious of the severe acid erosion of Tim’s enamel. This deterioration was also negatively impacting both the look and function of his teeth. Tim needed a full mouth reconstruction to rebuild what had broken down.

What does Tim think?

“I’m very happy with everything. The sensitivity is completely gone and they look great! It has changed my life because I don’t have to hurt, and of course you feel better when you have a nice smile. My wife and my mom both love them! I would tell anyone who was considering getting something like this done to do it, and I would tell them to come to Dr. Elizabeth Eggert.”

The Importance of Records – Tom’s Story

By: Dr. Elizabeth Eggert

How did this start?

Tom came to us first as a new patient last summer with a toothache after being referred by co-workers. At the time of his first exam, Tom had many teeth throughout his mouth that had fractured or cracked and he knew things were really broken down. Dr. Elizabeth noted excessive wear throughout his mouth and mild muscle discomfort during the muscle evaluation. Even with our thorough, comprehensive new patient exam, Dr. Elizabeth recommended Tom go through our records process so that she could delve deeper into underlying causes behind his cracking, breaking, and sensitive teeth.

What did Tom want?

Tom had noticed a lot more wear in the last decade and wanted to have them healthy again. He also wanted better looking teeth. He was worried since they looked unhealthy now, what would they look like in 20 years? Specifically, Tom wanted his teeth whiter and more even and wanted things to function better. He had many broken teeth, missing teeth, and wanted a comprehensive plan for restoring his teeth. He was also experiencing some chronic ear/sinus congestion, ringing in ears, and nerve issues in his face that he was hoping to have addressed during the process.

What was revealed during the records process?

Dr. Elizabeth used models, photos, and x-rays of Tom’s teeth along with our thorough muscle and joint evaluation results to present Tom with the current health of his teeth, gums, and the function of his jaw and muscles. The details of the records process revealed that the position of Tom’s teeth caused multiple interferences, so he was biting down unevenly causing the breakdown of his teeth. This deterioration was negatively impacting both the esthetics and function of his teeth. Tom needed a full mouth reconstruction to rebuild what had broken down.

What was involved?

Tom was interested in phasing his treatment to lessen the financial burden. We were able to work with Tom and designed the phased treatment to keep Tom’s teeth, gums, and the function of his jaw and muscles healthy and happy during the process. Dr. Elizabeth worked with a local lab and together designed a blueprint of Tom’s new teeth out of wax. This blueprint is called a laboratory wax-up and it provided the ability for Dr. Elizabeth to create Tom’s new smile.

Tom then spent a day and a half with us while Dr. Elizabeth prepared his front teeth for new crowns and veneers and his back teeth for long-term temporary crowns to get Tom used to more esthetic front teeth and a healthy bite in the back. We finally designed a splint for Tom to wear while he sleeps to protect his new smile from clenching, grinding and his very strong muscles.

What does Tom think?

“Before having it done, I thought it would be a much longer process, more like a year. It went a lot easier than expected. There was not much pain involved and it was helpful to have all of the options. Everything was clear. I’m glad I had it done now and didn’t wait. I think my life will change. I am more confident with my new smile. I would strongly recommend Dr. Elizabeth to others considering getting this done. I don’t know that people make the connection between function and cosmetics, but I sure learned a lot about how things fit together and I love my new smile!”

CEREC – No Messy Impressions, One Easy Appointment, Permanent!

By: Dr. Elizabeth Eggert

Did you know there’s a way to restore decayed, cracked, or chipped teeth in only one visit?

CEREC is an advanced dental technology that creates full crowns, inlays, onlays, and veneers. The best part about it? CEREC digital impressions and milling take only a couple of hours and your crown can be completed in only one visit.

CEREC restorations are made of compressed porcelain, emax porcelain, or compressed composite resin. These materials are the most similar to your teeth with regard to wear and esthetics. Also, CEREC crowns have no metal in them.

Advantages of CEREC restorations:

There’s only one dental visit, which saves you a considerable amount of time.
There’s no need for a temporary crown.
The crown is milled by computer technology to precisely fit your tooth. The accuracy of the fit is exceptional.

Procedure

The procedure for completing a CEREC restoration is very simple. Essentially, it’s a state-of-the-art CAD/CAM system for dentistry.

The first step is to remove all decay from the tooth. Dr. Eggert then shapes the tooth in preparation to take a digital scan of the tooth.

The highly detailed digital scan is captured, and the tooth appears in 3D on the computer screen. While you watch, Dr. Eggert designs the restoration.

Once the design is completed, the CEREC machine begins the 15-minute milling process. If interested, you can even watch the crown’s construction!

Once the milling process is complete, the restoration is sized for accuracy and the color and glazing is finalized.

After a final try-in, the restoration is cemented in. That’s it. On average, the entire CEREC process takes just a little over two hours.

An example of Dr. Eggert’s work:

The sign of a good CEREC crown? You can’t even tell which tooth it’s on.

Laura’s reaction, “The result is fantastic!”

Laura needed a crown and wanted to try the CEREC process. We asked Laura what she thought and she said, “Oh I definitely like it. Then, I don’t have to come back, which is perfect for me because my time is very precious. I like that I don’t have to worry about the temporary crown.” She further went on to note that, “The result is fantastic! I would tell someone else to definitely do it. The time goes by really fast!”

Contact us today to find out if CEREC restoration is right for you. Call (651) 482-8412.