Prosthetic management of flabby ridge using customized prefabricated metal mesh custom tray impression technique: A case report

Abstract

Flabby ridge is defined as an excessive mobile soft or fibrous tissue on the superficial aspect of the residual alveolar ridge. It is usually a common clinical finding affecting the maxillary and mandibular edentulous ridges; in particular, the maxillary anterior region. It can be attributed to a number of reasons i.e. long-term denture wearers, natural teeth opposing an edentulous ridge etc. The treatment options or management of flabby ridges generally include a surgical and a non-surgical approach. The non-surgical approach involves the implant-retained prostheses and fabrication of conventional removable dentures using various modified impression techniques. Prosthetic management of the patients with flabby ridge is a testing situation for the prosthodontist. Although, retention, support, and stability are the important principles defining the success of the complete denture, the same can be affected in unconventional situations like flabby ridge. The incorporation of the conventional impression techniques may lead to an unstable and an unsatisfactory denture. Henceforth, various impression techniques have been proposed in literature to overcome such issues and recording the entire denture bearing area in function along with flabby tissue in an undisplaced form. This case report portrays an innovative and practical yet simple modified impression technique using the incorporation of a customized prefabricated metal mesh into the custom tray i.e. single step impression technique along with the polyvinyl siloxane impression material for managing and minimizing the displacement of a flabby ridge in the maxillary arch and ultimately ensuring a well-fitting prosthesis.