DENTISTRY ONE DAY

Requirements

Successes of using an obturator in rehabilitation for a maxillectomy patient depend on size and location of defect. Large maxillary defects with a few remaining abutments located in a relatively straight line lead to a decrease in support, stability, and retention of prostheses due to unfavorable leverage. To minimize this leverage, weight reduction of a prosthesis should be considered By Nam Write blog
This newsletter describes in general a case of prosthetic rehabilitation using an opened hollow bulb obturator with a precise positioning method of metal framework in a patient who received partial maxillectomy.
This 74 year old man was referred to me from his general dental practitioner. Patient has an existing obturator, which was delivered five years ago. The patient’s chief complaints were difficulty in chewing and watery leakage into the nasal cavity, secondary to loose and unstable denture.
The key to success:
The definitive obturator was packed with heat-polymerizing acrylic resin in a single step for both the denture base and bulb part by modifying the special tray to obtain an accurate functional impression and contouring the master cast prior to fabrication of the meshwork, while precisely maintaining a 2 mm acrylic thickness around the bulb wall. In addition, the final acrylic thickness of the denture base underneath the artificial teeth is reduced at the same time because of the favorable meshwork’s height and contour.
Therefore, the design and fabrication technique demonstrated herein enables us to obtain a lightweight obturator with improved retention and stability, with a reduction of time required for chair-side adjustment such as relining of the bulb

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