One Design, Not Patches
The whole mouth is planned as one design instead of one tooth at a time, so each repair is chosen to fit the rest.
Full-Mouth Reconstruction in Alexandria, VA
The whole mouth, rebuilt as one plan.
When teeth are worn, broken, failing or missing across the mouth, a prosthodontist rebuilds them together, with implants, crowns, bridges and veneers chosen to fit one design and one bite. Board-certified prosthodontist Dr. Esam Abou Nahlah plans it and restores it.
Is Full-Mouth Reconstruction Right for Me?
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The Benefits
What a Full-Mouth Reconstruction Gives You
When worn, broken and missing teeth arrive together, a reconstruction plans the finished mouth first, so every crown, bridge, veneer and implant works toward one result.
See the Result First
A free digital preview, built from photos and scans of your mouth, shows the finished smile. You approve it before any tooth is prepared.
Upper and Lower That Meet
Both jaws are designed to meet as one bite, and the final teeth are balanced to it.
Natural Teeth Kept Where Possible
Teeth that can stay are crowned, bridged or veneered, and implants replace only the ones that are missing.
Foundations Treated First
Gum disease, failing teeth and thin bone are dealt with before the new teeth go in, in the order the plan sets.
A Plan Sized to You
If the examination shows only part of the mouth needs work, the plan stays that size.
Compare
Full-Mouth Reconstruction, Smile Makeover or All-on-4?
Three ways to change a lot of teeth at once. The examination and scan decide which one your mouth needs.
CompareFull-Mouth ReconstructionSmile MakeoverAll-on-4
What it rebuildsMost or all of the teeth in both jaws, back teeth and bite includedMostly the teeth that showA whole upper or lower arch
Your natural teethKept where possible, and crowned, bridged or veneeredKept, with veneers, crowns or whiteningReplaced by a fixed arch on four titanium posts
Missing teethImplants replace only the teeth that are missingBridges or implants, where the design needs themThe whole arch is carried on four implants
Seeing it firstA free digital preview, approved before any tooth is preparedA free Digital Smile Design, approved before preparation startsThe final teeth designed before a single implant is placed
How longIn stages; a few months to over a year where implants are involvedIn the order the design requiresFixed provisional teeth the same day in most cases, the zirconia final three to four months later
What It Is
What Is Full-Mouth Reconstruction?
Full-mouth reconstruction, which prosthodontists also call full-mouth rehabilitation, restores most or all of the teeth in both jaws. Rather than fixing one tooth at a time, the specialist plans the finished mouth first: how the teeth look, how the upper and lower meet, and what each tooth needs to get there.
Signs
When Do You Need Full-Mouth Reconstruction?
Worn and broken teeth, several missing teeth, gum disease and a bite that no longer meets evenly tend to arrive together, and they are often one problem: once a tooth is lost, the bone under it deteriorates and the damage spreads to its neighbors.
Because a prosthodontist reads the whole mouth as one system, the question at your first visit is not which tooth do I fix first but what does the finished mouth need. A second opinion on a plan you already have costs nothing.
The Parts
What Treatments Are Part of a Reconstruction?
Most plans combine several of these; the design decides which tooth gets which.
01Crowns
Custom caps over natural teeth that are too worn, cracked or stained for anything thinner.
02Bridges
Linked crowns that fill a gap. Carried on implants, a zirconia bridge leaves the healthy teeth beside it untouched.
03Porcelain Veneers
Hand-designed porcelain over less than a millimeter of enamel, for front teeth that are chipped, spaced or stained.
Veneers in detail
04Implants and Full Arches
Where teeth are missing or beyond saving, implants carry the new teeth, from a single crown to a fixed zirconia arch.
Full-mouth implantsWhy Choose Us
Why Choose Dr. Nahlah for a Full-Mouth Reconstruction
Full-mouth rehabilitation is the core of prosthodontics. Dr. Nahlah plans the finished mouth, places the implants and fits the final teeth himself, with a lab in our Alexandria office.
What to askOur practiceOther offices
Who plans itA board-certified prosthodontist; full-mouth rehabilitation is the core of the specialtySome rely on a weekend implant course
Hands on your caseDr. Nahlah plans the surgery and the final teeth himselfA surgeon, a dentist and an outside lab each handle a part
PlanningThe finished mouth comes first, and each tooth’s treatment is chosen to serve itSome fix one tooth at a time as problems appear
Seeing it firstA free digital preview, approved before any tooth is preparedAsk whether you will see the result before work begins
SurgeryImplants placed through guides printed from the scan of both jawsSome place implants freehand and judge by eye
LabA lab in our Alexandria office, so shade and fit are settled with you in personSome send the work out and wait weeks for it
ComfortNitrous oxide or oral sedation from the practice’s own team for the longer visitsAsk what sedation is offered, and who gives it
ScopeThe plan kept to the size your mouth needs, and you hear that at the first visitAsk whether the whole mouth truly needs treating
Dr. Esam Abou NahlahD.D.S., M.S.
Meet the Doctor
Meet Dr. Esam Abou Nahlah
As an award-winning board-certified specialist in prosthodontic dentistry, Dr. Nahlah provides patients with a premier level of dental care using the industry’s most advanced technology. He has been practicing since 2003, in Northern Virginia since 2013, entirely on prosthodontics. Diplomate of the American Board of Prosthodontics and Fellow of the American College of Prosthodontists. In 2013, the American Board of Prosthodontics awarded Dr. Nahlah the most prestigious award in prosthodontics: “Diplomate of American Board of Prosthodontics.”
Adjunct faculty at Virginia Commonwealth University, teaching the residents in its Prosthodontics Postgraduate Program, and lecturing on smile design and implants.
Across that career, over 18,000 implants placed and over 15,000 arches restored.
Credentials & Certifications
- Diplomate, American Board of Prosthodontics
- Fellow, American College of Prosthodontists
- Adjunct Faculty, VCU Prosthodontics Postgraduate Program
- Certificate in Prosthodontics
- M.S., Master of Science in Oral Biology
- Fellow, International Congress of Oral Implantologists
- Associate Fellow, American Academy of Implant Dentistry
The Process
How Does Full-Mouth Reconstruction Work?
01Evaluation
Time with Dr. Nahlah, your goals, a free digital preview of how the result will look, and the options with their prices.
02Scan and examination
A complete examination and a cone-beam scan of both jaws, to find what needs treating before anything else: gum disease, failing teeth, missing bone.
03One Complete Plan
Shape, shade, proportion and bite settled for the whole mouth, and approved by you before any tooth is prepared.
04Treatment in Stages
Treatment in the sequence the plan sets, which can mean extractions and grafting before implants and crowns, with the lab in the building adjusting shade and fit.
Before & After
Smiles We Have Rebuilt
BeforeAfter
BeforeAfterWhat Our Alexandria Patients Say
Our Office
What Our Duke Street Office Has for a Full Rebuild
A lab in the building
We design and mill crowns, bridges and full arches in our own office, so we settle shade and fit with you in person.
Guided by the scan
We plan each implant on the cone-beam scan of both jaws and place it through a guide printed from it, at the planned angle and depth.
Sedation for long visits
Nitrous oxide or oral sedation, given by our own team, for the longer surgical appointments. Those are the only two options we offer.
One team, two offices
Dr. Nahlah treats patients at both offices, so the care on Duke Street is the care at Tysons Corner.
Other Options
If a Full Reconstruction Is Not the Right Fit
01
Smile Makeover
When the work is mostly in the teeth that show.
Explore02
Full-Mouth Dental Implants
When most teeth are missing and both arches go on implants.
Explore03
Crowns & Bridges
For a few worn, cracked or missing teeth rather than the whole mouth.
Explore04
Porcelain Veneers
Thin porcelain for front teeth that are chipped, spaced or stained.
ExploreQuestions
Full-Mouth Reconstruction Questions
Who does full-mouth reconstruction in Alexandria?
Dr. Esam Abou Nahlah, board-certified in prosthodontics, the dental specialty in rebuilding teeth. He plans each case at 2855 Duke Street and restores it, with the teeth made in our lab in the same building.Meet Dr. Nahlah →
How much does full-mouth reconstruction cost?
It depends on how many teeth need crowns, bridges or implants, and whether extractions or bone grafting come first, so we work out the figure from your own scan and give it to you in writing at the consultation. We accept most PPO plans, and financing is available.Cost and financing →
What is recovery like after the surgery?
Most patients are back to normal activity within about a week of implant surgery. We handle minor discomfort with over-the-counter medication, and you eat soft foods while the implants fuse.
Will I be without teeth during treatment?
Usually not. When we put a whole arch on implants, most patients leave surgery with fixed provisional teeth, and a temporary tooth can be worn while a single implant heals.All-on-4 in Alexandria →
Is Duke Street the nearer office for me?
For Alexandria, Arlington, Springfield, Annandale and Burke it usually is. From McLean, Tysons, Vienna or Great Falls, our other office is closer, and Dr. Nahlah sees patients there too.Full-mouth reconstruction in McLean →
Can I get a second opinion on a plan I already have?
Yes, at no charge. Bring the plan, the quote and any scans or X-rays another office has taken; our cone-beam scan shows what your whole mouth needs.
Book a Full-Mouth Evaluation in Alexandria
An examination, a cone-beam scan of both jaws and a free preview of the result. New patients call (571) 617-7245, or book online with our Duke Street office.
Alexandria
Dr. Nahlah Implants and Prosthodontics Specialists2855 Duke Street
Alexandria, VA 22314
New patients(571) 617-7245
Current patients(571) 712-8958
DirectionsBook Online