Neuromuscular Reconstruction
Full Mouth Reconstruction/Neuromuscular Reconstruction Gallery
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After
Lateral View After
Greg had a busy and successful business career. Finding the time, combined with some traumatic dental experiences earlier in life, were enough to constantly put his dental health on the back burner. Old metal fillings were breaking, teeth were decaying, and he had learned to hide his teeth and smile. After research, and a referral from their good friends already patients of Dr Peterson, Greg came in with his lovely wife Bonnie for a consult. A couple planning sessions later, and in only two visits in the dental chair, Greg had his entire mouth restored to perfect health and beauty painlessly. Even while in the temporaries, Greg’s confidence in his smile was quickly changed and he was receiving constant compliments. Since completing the veneers and crowns his friends and family have all commented on how perfect and natural his result is! Now his friends who referred him, have thanked us for helping him, sharing how this great man’ s personality is no longer hidden behind his teeth and his confidence is stronger that ever!
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Upper Teeth Before
Lower Teeth Before
Upper Teeth After
Lower Teeth After
Lateral View After
Michelle wanted changes to her smile but also discovered she was a TMD patient. She had cavities on all her back teeth as a kid and the dentistry had been redone once or twice by the time she was in her thirties.
The most painful of her TMD symptoms were the headaches. The headaches had been a part of her life for many years. They worsened year by year until she was having migraines. Before her phase one orthotic therapy she was to the point of almost daily headaches and often multiple migraines in any given week.
Michelle wanted to eliminate the gap between her front teeth, widen her smile to fill in the dark spaces on the sides when she smiled, and after she realized we could help with her headaches she wanted the correction of her joint and muscles to be permanent. She wasn’t willing to wear braces but was open to the idea of Invisalign. She needed to replace her large fillings,(most of which had new cavities,) with something stronger and better fitting.
We first did a neuromuscular evaluation for Michelle. The results showed she was a good candidate for Dr. Peterson to significantly help with her headaches. She then went into an orthotic to prove we could eliminate her pain. After great results with the orthotic we made the improvements permanent. To do this for Michelle we used Invisalign to improve the position of her teeth and then restored her bite to a position where her pain was addressed. We also did a smile design and veneers to give her the smile she always wanted. We listened to her wants about color, shape, translucency, anatomy, etc. and she loves the result!
Since her treatment Michelle’s migraines are gone and her headaches are very rare. She runs her own small business and is frequently at conventions where she is sure to get lots of compliments on her smile. She is quick to tell people they are veneers and hand out Dr Peterson’s cards!
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Upper Teeth After
Lower Teeth After
Provisionals
Fixed Orthotics
Lateral View After
Allen’s treatment is an example of a Neuromuscular Reconstruction. Allen’s bite was so destructive the restorations on his back teeth were failing and all his teeth were getting shorter and shorter year by year. Allen was only in his mid 30’s, he realized something needed to be done. Every detail of his esthetic reconstruction was personalized to Allen. His treatment also included a MicrO2 sleep appliance.
Allen describes his experience as “life changing.”
The final photo shows Allen’s orthotics. Orthotics are different than temporaries, although we do use the same materials. They are a diagnostic phase of treatment. They are designed after a computerized jaw positioning appointment involving jaw tracking and EMG’s. Most often we fabricate a single orthotic over the bottom teeth. In rare cases, such as Allen’s, it becomes necessary to place orthotics on both arches. They are in place for a period of months which allows us to confirm a healthy reconstructive position before anything is made permanent. More information on this process is available here.
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After
Upper Teeth Before
Lower Teeth Before
Upper Teeth After
Lower Teeth After
Lateral View After
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Greg is another patient whose cosmetic makeover was part of a Neuromuscular reconstruction. He wanted to fix the appearance of his front teeth but understood that the destruction on the back teeth also needed to be addressed. Greg did his homework, discovered neuromuscular dentistry, and found Dr. Peterson in Park City. Part of the initial work up was an EMG assessment of Greg’s existing bite. It was no surprise to Greg to find the relationship between his upper and lower jaw was so off, his muscles we in a constant state of hyper activity. With a first phase orthotic therapy Dr. Peterson was able to change this relationship and Greg wanted to make the new position permanent. Greg now enjoys the smile he wanted, his posterior teeth restored, and a healthy and functional neuromuscular system.
