Full mouth extraction is the process of removing all your permanent teeth that may or may not be damaged or decayed. Dentists recommend full mouth extraction in Las Vegas or anywhere else due to widespread infection through all your teeth and jawbone, or due to complete traumatic damage to your teeth.
The condition of requiring full mouth extraction is usually preceded by neglecting oral health for a long time. Some people may need a tooth extraction or simple intervention, but they don’t take any steps fearing the procedure or the cost of the treatment itself. Thus, some patients may end up with bigger and more serious problems, such as generalized periodontitis or extensive caries that require extracting all their teeth.
The dentist shall discuss the treatment plan with the patient including the rehabilitation after full mouth extraction as well. In addition, several precautions are to be taken to lower the risks of complications after extractions, including eliminating the infection to relieve the pain.
It’s important to discuss the impact of this procedure psychologically and to reassure by providing other options for rehabilitation when there’s no other option for the treatment rather than full mouth extraction. Discussion may include the cost, steps, and the risk of neglecting the treatment plan.
The Indications of Full Mouth Extraction
Periodontal disease
Dentists recommend full mouth extraction as a last option when all the other options are performed without any positive results. Dentists recommend this option also to avoid further progressions of the disease, which may affect the jawbone or the ligaments and lead to serious problems and more complicated plans of treatment, as the infection may reach the blood and affect other organs in the body.
Traumatic injury
A severe traumatic injury may lead to the destruction of the teeth and supporting structures, leaving no other option but do full mouth extraction and rehabilitation.
Advanced decay
Several cases may complain of advanced teeth decay beyond the usual possibility of restoring or replacing a little number of it. Thus, the dentist will recommend full mouth extraction and dental implants.
Rising numbers of teeth decay may be due to bad diets and improper oral hygiene, and sometimes due to certain medications causing dryness of the mouth.
How Long Does Full Mouth Extraction Take?
The duration of full mouth extraction isn’t like tooth extraction, there will be a long time for more preparation. In addition, the duration also depends on the condition of the teeth, whether impacted or not or in need of simple or surgical extraction.
It may take a few hours for the whole operation, a considerable part of them will be for sedation and preparation, and each extraction may take 3-15 minutes.
It’s important to mention that some dentists may recommend doing the operation on multiple visits, which may spare the patient the burden of suddenly functioning with complete edentulism. While a single visit will expose the patient to anesthesia only once.
Healing After Full Mouth Extraction
Any tooth extraction may take a week or slightly more to recover, although the patient may experience some changes in the period.
In the first few days, the patient will have to take painkillers for the pain, and the dentist may suggest biting on ice bags to relieve the edema and the bleeding.
It’s also important to consider some precautions, such as:
– Eating soft foods, such as eggs and yogurt.
– Avoid rinsing your teeth heavily, this might remove the blood clots and initiate bleeding.
– Avoid smoking.
Post-operative Procedures
Treatment plan may be associated with certain procedures after tooth extractions, they include:
Full Mouth Extraction with Alveoplasty
Alveoloplasty is the process of remolding or re-contouring the jaw after teeth extraction. The reason for this specific procedure is that the edentulous part remaining after teeth extraction may be uneven, giving it further difficult for placing an artificial tooth later on. The dentist identifies the time of the procedure, on either the same time of extraction or when the healing occurs.
It’s an easy procedure, as the dentist will make a simple cut in the gum line to expose the underlying jawbone and reshape it to promote the healing process.
Here are the benefits of alveoloplasty after full mouth extraction:
- Preparing the jawbone for dental implants later on.
- Improving the healing process.
- Improving the shape of the alveolar ridge to reduce the complications of dentures and promote stability. As there might be irregularities or protrusions from the jawbone after extraction that might get irritated from dentures and may induce instability for the dentures as well.
- When done immediately after extraction, it will spare the need for more complicated surgical procedures.
Overall, alveoloplasty is of much importance for the patient’s plans, and it has a very high success rate.
Full Mouth Extraction with Immediate Dentures
Immediate denture is a great solution functionally and psychologically, as it will spare the patient any burden of embarrassment after complete teeth extraction. The denture will be set immediately before the complete healing of the gum tissue, for a temporary time until the new dental appliance is being prepared for you specifically.
The immediate denture is made out of an impression from your mouth taken before the extraction. And will replace the extracted teeth on the same day or after a week when there’s a problem with jawbone or gum tissue.
Immediate denture has the advantages of immediate replacing to avoid appearing without teeth, in addition to being much easier to make from just an impression of your mouth. Although, it might not fit well due to the healing process and shrinkage of the jawbone after extraction, and the chewing process will not be ideal like natural teeth.
Patients will have to wear immediate dentures for like 6-8 months until the permanent dentures are done and ready. During this time, a periodical adjustment may be needed to fit well after the change in jawbone shape.
Recovery Time for Full Mouth Teeth Extraction
The healing of this procedure may take up to 3 weeks. The operation will require local anesthesia, sedation might be an option if the patient might have anxiety from the procedure itself. The time of the operation may take an hour to complete, and up to two weeks to heal.
Risks of Tooth Extraction
Any tooth extraction, with full mouth extraction included, have the following risks:
- Bleeding: initially is normal and may last an hour or more. The dentist will confirm to contact him/her if you notice heavy bleeding that lasts longer.
- Dry socket: happens when the blood clot is removed due to any reason, such as smoking or heavy brushing. Dry socket is very painful and the patient may need a checkup by the dentist.
- Infection: should be eliminated mouth before extraction to avoid its spreading.
Full Mouth Extraction Pain
During the procedure, there will be no pain, as the dentist will give the patient local anesthesia and sedatives if the patient have anxiety.
After the operation, the patient might experience some pain. The dentist may prescribe pain killers and some home remedies to help reduce and even eliminate the pain.
Feel free to discuss with the dentist the plan for pain management and anesthesia, there is an option of complete sedation if there will be more invasive techniques and longer times.
Home Instructions
- Your dentist may recommend to keep the dentures in place for 24 hours.
- Eat nothing for a few hours before surgery.
- Avoid hard foods, so as not to interrupt the healing process.
- It’s very important to quit smoking for the time after the operation, as smoking will disrupt the healing process by making dry sockets and dislodging the blood clots. In addition to the potential risk of infection
- Avoid strenuous exercises that put stress on the body
- Prop your head with a pillow
- Follow up with the dentist
Full Mouth Dental Extraction in Las Vegas cost
Full mouth extraction in Las Vegas or anywhere else is a complex procedure. There will be payment for x-rays and scans. The extraction itself depends on the dentist and the location of the dental office, some estimate the cost for full mouth extraction to be up to $3000 or $75 to $300 per tooth, and more if it’s impacted.
Does Dental Insurance Cover Teeth Extraction?
For tooth extraction, especially surgical, there’s the option of dental insurance, and according to your insurance plans, you might pay nothing or a few hundred.
The Cost of Alveoloplasty
The cost of alveoplasty procedure depends on the medical condition and overall oral health, in addition to the extent of alveoloplasty after extraction. It is estimated that the cost may be from $500 to 2000$.
The cost of immediate dentures
Depending on the materials being used for the immediate denture and the location of the dental office, high-quality dentures, made of metal for example, will range from $4000 to $8000 per full set. While the non-premium quality will range from $1200 to $2000 per full set.
The option of dental insurance to cover dentures is available to make it affordable; insurance can cover up to 50% of the costs.
Dentists or clinics may provide other options for payment, such as discount dental plans or making a plan with an interest percentage.