I have never liked my smile and I am finally in a position to do something about it. Here are the issues:
- It’s extraordinarily difficult to show my upper teeth.
- When my mouth is at rest you cannot see them at all.
- I have pretty constant jaw pain, except for when I wear my nightguard at night for my teeth grinding.
What I’d like is to be able to see my teeth and maybe even improve my appearance. I’d also like my jaw to hurt less, like the way it does when I’m wearing my nightguard. Would porcelain veneers be my best solution?
Laurie
Dear Laurie,
While porcelain veneers are the go-to procedure for a smile makeover, your situation is a little more complicated. It sounds like you are facing a collapsed bite along with TMJ Disorder. This requires a different approach. You will need to open your bite. This is typically done as full-mouth reconstruction with dental crowns. However, I want you to proceed with caution.
Only a small percentage of dentists are able to do this procedure correctly. When it isn’t properly done, it ends up making things much worse. Here is the way I’d recommend a dentist proceed.
You want whoever does your full-mouth reconstruction to start by using provisional crowns to open your bite. This way it is reversible. When you are completely out of pain and love the appearance of your smile, that is the time to move forward and the dentist can make the permanent crowns.
What Qualifications Do You Want in Your TMJ Dentist
It’s important whatever dentist you choose has extensive post-doctoral training in TMJ Disorder. For instance, Dr. Weiss did his TMJ training with the renowned Dawson Academy. Other reputable institutions would be the Kois Center and the Las Vegas Institute for Advanced Dental Studies.
You also want to ask them what experience they have in full-mouth reconstruction. You definitely don’t want to be their first case.
Cosmetic Considerations with Your New Bite
While you are opening your bite, you are also getting a smile makeover. Because of that, it is important you find a dentist who is a top of the line cosmetic dentist. Ideally, you’d want an AACD accredited dentist. The good news is finding such a dentist will likely take care of both sets of qualifications.
This blog is brought to you by Philadelphia Cosmetic Dentist Dr. Michael Weiss.