Osteo-Odonto-Keratoprosthesis

Abstract

Abstract Our eye is the window of the soul, and the window of the eye is the cornea. The role of teeth is extremely less known in the field of ophthalmology. Osteo-odonto-keratoprosthesis (OOKP) is a medical procedure to restore vision in severe cases of corneal and ocular surface diseases. It comprises the removal of a tooth mostly canine from the patient or a donor. A portion of the tooth along with the bone is used to support an optical cylinder to restore vision. It is a new hope of ray for millions who suffer from total blindness with good optic nerve and good retina. A wide variety of infectious and inflammatory eye diseases serve as the major cause for corneal diseases. Penetrating keratoplasty is the general treatment for corneal diseases. However, when the ocular surface is severely compromised, penetrating keratoplasty is a failure. Thus, keratoprosthesis is the viable option for restoring sight in these patients in which a plastic acrylic implant is held in a piece of the patient’s tooth and surrounding bone, and the whole is placed in a corneal envelope into which polymethyl methacrylate optic is cemented and the patient’s extraction socket is filled with osseograft for later prosthetic rehabilitation. Even if OOKP surgery is extremely demanding and time-consuming, the rewards will be extremely satisfying as the patient may regain the quality of life that they enjoyed once. The use of a tooth as an eye implant is such creativity that would inspire future inter-professional approaches to ophthalmic practice to provide the best care for patients.