Definitive Impression Technique for Maxillary Defects in Patients with Reduced Mouth Opening- A Novel Approach

Abstract

Palatal defects are categorised as a multicausal pathology, with its aetiology ranging from trauma and microbial infections to oncogenic origin. This by and large leads to surgical defects of the palatal tissues which warrants immediate treatment. Due to this, the patient faces a plethora of challenges, namely psychological, functional and social. These defects can be catered to by means of surgical closure or prosthetic therapy. Thereby, this uplifts the patient’s self-confidence and performance of day-to-day activities. However, surgical closure by free flaps is not feasible in all cases due to the dearth of favourable tissues or prevalent co-morbid conditions. So, this makes fabrication of a palatal obturator the treatment of choice to rehabilitate these cases. An obturator is a maxillofacial prosthesis which blocks the oro-nasal communication and thus ameliorates the mastication, phonation and aesthetic profile of the affected subject. For fabricating well-fitting obturator prosthesis, making an accurate impression with appropriate spatial orientation of the orofacial structures is imperative. Many obstacles come in the way of a prosthodontist while making impression in such cases due to the complexity of the supporting stomatognathic system in terms of compressibility and multitude of geometric planes of the tissues. These patients present with restricted mouth opening due to scarring of tissues or radiation therapy. In this article, the authors describes a technique which predominantly addresses most of the problems related to the impression making procedures in patients treated with maxillectomy experiencing limited mouth opening.