COMPLEX INTERDISCIPLINARY TREATMENT

Patients often present with dental problems that go far beyond a quick fix. Circumstances may have prevented early treatment and disease processes progress to a point that very thorough planning and coordination of treatment with our supporting specialists becomes a necessity to assure a stable and predictable outcome.
“The Instant Cosmetic Makeover” rage that emerged from some of the reality TV shows did not tell the real story. Patients who present with multiple disease and aesthetic problems must be thoroughly evaluated and treatment planned based on their personal goals and limitations.

Here are a few complex patient treatments that involved several specialists in their treatment process:

PATIENT #1

-Our patient has advanced gum disease affecting the remaining upper teeth.
-Her treatment goal is to never wear a complete denture and to have all of her front teeth permanently cemented.
-She is comfortable with a removable partial denture as long as the clasps are not visible when she smiles.
-The challenge is to plan her treatment so that she is always presentable and without using a complete denture.

PATIENT #2

-Our second patient had lost several back teeth in her youth, and she was unhappy about the wear and appearance of her teeth.
-Treatment goals were established following a comprehensive evaluation that included consultations with the Orthodontist and an Oral Surgeon.
-Her treatment involved Full Adult Orthodontics, Surgical Repositioning of her jaws, implant placement to replace the lower missing teeth, and an esthetic reconstruction of her upper teeth and placement of crowns on the dental implants.

PATIENT #3

-Our third patient had advanced wear of all of his front teeth and moderate wear of the posterior teeth.
-The wear was most likely accelerated by acid reflux associated with Obstructive Airway Disease and nighttime grinding (Bruxing).
-Treatment goals were established following a comprehensive evaluation that included consultations with the Orthodontist and the Periodontists.
-Treatment involved Full Adult Orthodontics, Laser Guided Soft Tissue Contouring, Direct Bonding of Lower Incisors, and aesthetic Crowns on the Upper Anterior Teeth and Selected Posterior Teeth.

PATIENT #4

-Our third patient had advanced wear of all of his front teeth and moderate wear of the posterior teeth.
-The wear was most likely accelerated by acid reflux associated with Obstructive Airway Disease and nighttime grinding (Bruxing).
-Treatment goals were established following a comprehensive evaluation that included consultations with the Orthodontist and the Periodontists.
-Treatment involved Full Adult Orthodontics, Laser Guided Soft Tissue Contouring, Direct Bonding of Lower Incisors, and aesthetic Crowns on the Upper Anterior Teeth and Selected Posterior Teeth.

PATIENT #5

-Patient #5 wished to close the spacing in his upper front teeth.
-The diagnostic evaluation established that simply closing the space would result in poorly proportioned upper front teeth and would be distracting.
-The teeth were all healthy, so a treatment was designed that allowed veneer type restorations on all but the upper right front tooth that had an existing crown.
-The treatment goal was to divide the midline space between the upper six front teeth and close all of the spaces with all porcelain restorations.