The Dental Face Lift ®
Full Mouth Reconstruction
He saw Dr. Muslin on the television show "The Doctors" with a few of his patients that had undergone Face Lift Dentistry ®. He saw that Dr. Muslin could completely rebuild a smile while still making it look natural. He heard one of Dr. Muslin's patients talking about how his jaw pain and headaches were minimized after the treatment. As someone who suffered from "daily" headaches he wanted to see what Dr. Muslin could do for him.
Tooth Grinding
At his consultation he told us that he took ibuprofen daily for headache pain and that his jaw would get tired. He showed extensive signs of grinding, also known as bruxism, and his bite was overclosed. Dr. Muslin explained to him that all of these symptoms indicated that his bite was out of balance and that his jaw was not in the ideal position for his health.
From a cosmetic standpoint he was very clear that he did not want a super white overdone smile but rather something that was believable. Dr. Muslin showed him that all of his teeth angled in towards the center of his mouth which was making his smile narrow. Several of his teeth were too short and some appeared almost sawed off which is the direct result of grinding.
Re-Building a Natural Smile
Patient has tetracycline stain and did not want big white teeth. He wanted
the most natural looking result that would be indictable. None of his teeth
were ground down for the porcelain veneer as it was done non-invasively.
Additionally, he had a complete bite reconstruction with porcelain added
to all 28 teeth without any drilling on his natural teeth.
After taking complex motion tomography images of his jaw Dr. Muslin designed his full mouth reconstruction around the functional dynamics of his jaw joint. By changing the proportions of his teeth and the balance of his bite Dr Muslin can actually slide his jaw into the optimal position without surgery. This repositioning can reduce jaw pain and fatigue, alleviate headache or migraine pain and minimize TMJ symptoms. The key to success is that every proportional change must come together in perfect harmony to go beyond a full mouth reconstruction . . . it is a full Dental Face Lift ®.
When Dr. Muslin non-surgically repositions his jaw through changes to his bite he can now lengthen the upper teeth. Notice in the before photo that very little of his upper teeth are visible. This effect is making him look older because as we age our teeth naturally shorten every year from grinding and wear. To capture a more youthful essence the presence of the upper teeth must be restored. To give him a wider smile Dr. Muslin modified the angles and the length of all of the side teeth. Rather than have dark shadows in the corners of his mouth he now has a full and vibrant smile.
To keep the look totally natural, Dr. Muslin developed each tooth to capture what he calls the "critical elements". He explains that "most dentists never see the work once it is sent to the lab and they very rarely work on the four critical elements of translucency, surface texture, anatomical shape, and subtle color variation themselves". When any one of these four design components are not developed properly the teeth will look fake.
High-Tech Porcelain Veneers
Look closely at his after pictures and you will see translucencies in the porcelain and surface textures that mimic natural tooth enamel. Also notice that Dr. Muslin designs each tooth to have minor shape differences that all come together to create a harmonious smile. None of the teeth are bulky or oversized. Each tooth is accented with subtle color variations within the porcelain which keeps everything looking real. Any dentist can deliver a smile of white, opaque, and bulky teeth but if you want to look natural Dr. Muslin has the artistic eye, ability, and lab ceramist to make it happen.
Every single patient of Dr. Muslin's tries in their work before it is bonded into place and this patient was no exception. After looking at the work in the office and then also outside in natural daylight his wife asked if his teeth could be a little whiter. The good news is that Dr. Muslin has developed a custom bonding method where he can actually shift the color of the porcelain slightly. This shift is what he calls his "white boost" technique.
Both the patient and his wife were very happy with the final results and they actually came to Dr. Muslin for treatment at about the same time. When everything was finished they sent Dr. Muslin an email that said, "We are very appreciative. The entire experience far surpassed anything we could have ever expected."