Relaxed, smiling woman reclining in a dental chair as a masked clinician waits in the background
HomeFull-Mouth Reconstruction

Full-Mouth Reconstruction in McLean & 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.

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Is Full-Mouth Reconstruction Right for Me?

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What would you like to fix?

Worn, broken or failing teeth in both jawsMostly the teeth that showMost teeth missing or beyond savingA plan from another office
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.

FreeSmile preview, before treatment
1 biteUpper and lower designed to meet
1 specialistPlans the surgery and the teeth

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.

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.

A smile before a smile makeover, uneven and gapped
Before
Smiling patient holding a framed picture of her teeth before treatment
Planned with you
The bench and stereo microscope in the practice's in-house laboratory
Made in the in-house lab
The same smile after a completed smile makeover by prosthodontist Dr. Esam Abou Nahlah
After

Meet the specialist

Yolanda holding a framed photograph of her smile before treatment
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.

Why Choose Us

The Parts

What Treatments Are Part of a Reconstruction?

Most plans combine several of these; the design decides which tooth gets which.

A crown being seated onto a demonstration model01

Crowns

Custom caps over natural teeth that are too worn, cracked or stained for anything thinner.

A three-unit ceramic bridge on a stone model02

Bridges

Linked crowns that fill a gap. Carried on implants, a zirconia bridge leaves the healthy teeth beside it untouched.

A completed porcelain veneer case03

Porcelain Veneers

Hand-designed porcelain over less than a millimeter of enamel, for front teeth that are chipped, spaced or stained.

Veneers in detail
Illustration of implant-supported bridges lowered onto implant posts in a lower jaw model04

Implants 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 implants
Why 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 both offices.

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 both offices, 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 Nahlah in black scrubs with his arm around a smiling patient in the office hallway
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
Meet Dr. Nahlah
The Process

How Does Full-Mouth Reconstruction Work?

A clinician showing a patient a dental model during a consultation01

Evaluation

Time with Dr. Nahlah, your goals, a free digital preview of how the result will look, and the options with their prices.

A stereo microscope over the bench in the practice's in-house laboratory02

Scan 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.

An intraoral scanner beside the digital model of a patient’s arch03

One Complete Plan

Shape, shade, proportion and bite settled for the whole mouth, and approved by you before any tooth is prepared.

Dental technician in black gloves working at a precision milling instrument in a dental lab04

Treatment 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

Full-Mouth Reconstruction Photos

Case 12, full-mouth reconstruction: smile before treatment by prosthodontist Dr. Esam Abou Nahlah, Northern VirginiaCase 12, full-mouth reconstruction: smile after treatment by prosthodontist Dr. Esam Abou Nahlah, Northern VirginiaBeforeAfter
Full-mouth reconstruction · case 12
Before: damaged and missing teethAfter: veneers combined with implantsBeforeAfter
Veneers with implants, from the gallery
Case 26, double-arch All-on-4: smile before treatment by prosthodontist Dr. Esam Abou Nahlah, Northern VirginiaCase 26, double-arch All-on-4: smile after treatment by prosthodontist Dr. Esam Abou Nahlah, Northern VirginiaBeforeAfter
Both arches rebuilt on implants · case 26

Every case in the gallery

What Our Patients Say

Other Options

If a Full Reconstruction Is Not the Right Fit

Also hereAll-on-4Dental ImplantsFailed ImplantsSedation DentistryFinancing
Questions

Full-Mouth Reconstruction Questions

What is full-mouth reconstruction?
Rebuilding most or all of the teeth in both jaws to one plan, with crowns, bridges, veneers and implants as the case needs. Prosthodontists call it full-mouth rehabilitation, and it is the core of the specialty.Meet Dr. Nahlah →
How is it different from a smile makeover?
A smile makeover works mostly on the teeth that show. A full-mouth reconstruction rebuilds the whole mouth, back teeth and bite included, often with implants where teeth are missing.Smile makeover →
Who needs full-mouth reconstruction?
Usually people with several problems at once: worn or broken teeth, several missing teeth, gum disease or a bite that no longer meets evenly. The examination and scan decide whether the whole mouth needs rebuilding or only part of it.
How long does it take?
It is done in stages, in the order the design requires. Where implants are part of it, allow anywhere from a few months to over a year, longer if bone has to be grafted first.
Can I see the result before treatment starts?
Yes. A digital preview of the finished smile is built from photos and scans of your mouth, free, and you approve the design before any tooth is prepared.
How is it paid for?
The price is set with the plan at the consultation. Most PPO dental plans are accepted, claims are filed for you, and financing through Proceed Finance reaches $60,000 over terms of up to 96 months.Cost and financing →
Is full-mouth reconstruction done at the McLean office?
Yes, at Suite 220, 7901 Jones Branch Drive, near Tysons Corner, where the surgical suites and the lab are on one floor.Full-mouth reconstruction in McLean →
Is full-mouth reconstruction done at the Alexandria office?
Yes. At 2855 Duke Street the same specialist plans and restores the whole mouth, with a lab in the building.Full-mouth reconstruction in Alexandria →
Book a Consultation

Book Online, or Ask Us First

A full examination, a scan of both jaws and a free preview of the result, with pricing on the table.