• Journal of Dental Rehabilitation and Applied Science
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.33-38
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• 2010

Maxillectomy is a treatment option for maxillary cancer, which leaves the patient with a palatal defect. It may cause problems with facial deformation, swallowing, mastication, and speech. These functional problems and changes in appearance may result in psychological problems. To control these deficits after maxillectomy, surgical reconstruction or prosthodontic treatment can be chosen as a treatment option. Obturator prosthesis has been used as a preferred method of rehabilitation for most maxillectomy patients. This case is a patient who was classified Aramany classification II hemi-maxillectomy patient with residual teeth from #11-25, whose teeth had substantial labioversion and clinically lengthened from alveolar bone involution, thus making it hard to select proper framework design and resist to the rotational dislodging force of the obturator. Therefore we selected swing-lock attachment design to remain pre-existing crown and bridges and obtain retention and stability of obturator. The swing-lock RPD is economical than the conventional RPD because we can remain pre-existing crown and bridges. And residual teeth which have mobility and poor prognosis can be successfully retained through properly designed swing-lock RPD as it is functioning as a removable splint on the teeth.

• Journal of Dental Rehabilitation and Applied Science
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.322-329
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• 2016

Reconstruction of the maxillectomy with an obturator is to restore masticatory, swallowing, phonetic and esthetic problems. Stress created by lateral forces is minimized by the proper selection of an occlusal scheme, elimination of premature occlusal contacts, and wide distribution of supporting area. It should be considered that properly designed retainers reduce the stresses transmitted to the abutment while the obturator is in function. The following clinical report presents palatal obturator treatment with implant assisted removable partial denture (IARPD) design that restores normal function and esthetics in patients who experienced maxillectomy and dental implant failure.

• The Journal of Korean Academy of Prosthodontics
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• v.54 no.2
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• pp.167-171
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• 2016

Patients undergone partial maxillectomy experience post-operative masticatory, phonetic, and swallowing difficulties. They also encounter social and psychological challenges due to changes in their facial appearances. Thus, functional and esthetic recovery through maxillofacial prosthesis becomes significant for these patients. The objective of an appropriate obturator is to restore palate and improve phonetic and swallowing ability by separating the oral cavity, nasal cavity, maxillary sinus, and nasopharynx. In this case report, an obturator was fabricated for a patient who had partial resection from the maxillary posterior region to the pharynx due to squamous cell carcinoma. The purpose of this case study is to describe the results because the patient was successfully improved both functionally and esthetically.

• Journal of Dental Rehabilitation and Applied Science
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.337-342
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• 2011

Congenital or traumatic loss on the oral and maxillary area or the loss of jaws due to the surgical excision of a tumor causes functional problems, such as masticatory and swallowing disorders, phonetic problems and psychological disorders in patients. In most cases, a prosthetic restoration is needed to resolve these problems and restore the damaged tissue and function. When loss occurs on the maxilla, foods and liquids leak into the nasal cavity, and a nasal sound can be heard due to air leakage into the removed area. In these cases, the palatal obturator can be used to improve the esthetic and functional aspects because it restores the removed area of the maxilla and closes the opened route between the oral cavity and maxillary sinus or nasal cavity. In this case report, a palatal obturator was applied to patients who had a hemimaxillectomy due to the occurrence of squamous cell carcinoma on the right maxillary area. Therefore, fundamental functions, such as phonetic and swallowing functions were restored, and the esthetic aspects of the facial profile were improved.

• Journal of Dental Rehabilitation and Applied Science
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.331-337
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• 2018

Prosthetic rehabilitation of an edentulous patient who has a maxillary defect is difficult to achieve for many clinicians. The maxillary defect causes leakage of air during pronunciation and compromises denture stability, support and retention by reducing denture-bearing area and breaking peripheral seal. In these patients, the sizes and shapes of defects are very important factors which attribute to prognosis of maxillary obturators. This case report shows the prosthetic rehabilitation of the patient who had maxillectomy on the right maxillary sinus because of squamous cell carcinoma. The patient had a stepwise treatment protocol which started with pre-operative dental examination and followed by surgical, interim and definitive obturation phase. In this case, an acceptable level of retention could be obtained due to well-defined static defects and the preserved premaxillae and the patient was satisfied with the result of the treatment in the aspect of function and esthetics.

• Journal of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute of Korea
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• v.26 no.6
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• pp.471-474
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• 2013

The surgical evaluation of the apicoectomy with various types of alveolar bone resorption was conducted in current study. The apicoectomy is the common and important treatment in endodontics. Finite element analysis was used for evaluation. The 3D solid model of the maxillary central incisor was reconstructed using CT images of a mature Asian female. Loading and boundary conditions were simulated in the normal mastication of maxillary central incisor. For evaluation of apicoectomy, lingual, labial and entire alveolar bone resorption models were developed. In the results, lingual alveolar bone resorption did not significantly influence stress distribution pattern of root dentin and labial alveolar bone had an important role for supporting structural stability in tooth system.

• The Journal of Korean Academy of Prosthodontics
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• v.55 no.1
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• pp.88-93
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• 2017

Most patients with acquired maxillary surgical defects have difficulties such as functional impairments of mastication, speech, and deglutition as well as various degrees of facial deformity. The purpose of a prosthetic approach is to restore function and appearance with an obturator as normal as possible. This goal can be achieved when there is thoughful preoperative communication between a prosthodontist and a surgeon regarding a rehabilitation. In this case report, prosthetic rehabilitation was planned before the surgery for the patient diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma in the right maxillary sinus with careful oral examination. Four months after maxillectomy, a definitive obturator was fabricated following the surgical and interim obturation phase. The objective of this case report is to describe the satisfactory results of the patient with improved rehabilitation of mastication, speech, deglutition, and appearance.

• The Journal of Korean Academy of Prosthodontics
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• v.55 no.3
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• pp.319-324
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• 2017

Patients with maxillectomy defects predisposed to not only difficulty in deglutition, mastication, speech but also psychological depression from impaired facial esthetics that affect life quality. Obturator prostheses play a important role in restoring the lost form, function and the quality of life for patients with maxillectomy defects. This clinical report presents the simplified approach to predict the degree of adequate facial support by Artificial palate which reflected from a maxillary interim obturator during the stabilization period after maxillectomy.

• Journal of Dental Rehabilitation and Applied Science
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.143-153
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• 2017

One of the common complications of dental injury is tooth ankylosis. Unlike adults, when tooth ankylosis occurs in the adolescents, ankylosis interfered the growth of the adjacent alveolar bone, resulting in the developmental failure of the alveolar bone and subsequent open bite. The most common treatment option for ankylosed tooth is extraction. However, when prognosis of ankylosed tooth after extraction is expected to be poor due to severity of infrapositioning or prosthetic replacement cannot be performed immediately, various treatment options should be considered. This report suggests multidisciplinary treatment that might bring functionally and esthetically favorable result included alveolar bone distraction osteogenesis and decoronation of ankylosed maxillary anterior tooth with orthodontic and prosthetic treatments.

• Journal of Dental Rehabilitation and Applied Science
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.281-293
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• 2021

Patients who went through maxillectomy can have severely impaired swallowing, mastication, and pronunciation functions because of palatal defects. Leakage occurs through the nasal cavity while eating, chewing becomes difficult due to the loss of teeth and alveolar ridges, and oral and nasal passages are not separated, leading to hyper-nasal sound, and significantly reducing the quality of life. To prosthetically reconstruct the defect, the weight of the obturator should be reduced as much as possible to minimize dropout because of gravity, and the bulb of the obturator should be properly extended into the defect to get additional retention and stability. In this case of a partially edentulous patient who underwent additional maxillary resection because of tumor recurrence, a metal framework was designed by applying the basic design principles of removable partial dentures. An obturator with improved retention, stability, and support was fabricated through functional impressions. The patient was satisfied with the improved facial expression, mastication, swallowing, and pronunciation, and showed stable occlusion and oral hygiene management during the follow-up period.