PALATAL OBTURATORS PROSTHESIS AFTER MAXILLECTOMY: CHALLENGES AND REWARDS OF THE ORAL REHABILITATION

Abstract

The surgical treatment of tumors in the maxilla can cause oroantral communication. Partial or total maxillectomy always impairs the most different degrees of functionality of the oral cavity. Patients who have maxillectomy can be rehabilitated with reconstructive surgery or obturator prostheses with or without osseointegratable implants. Previous radiotherapy contraindicates dental implants, due to the risk of osteoradionecrosis. The morphologic and functional limitations resulting from the oncological surgery require careful, individualized, and integral planning. Rehabilitation of patients with maxillary defects using obturator prosthesis is an appropriate and not invasive treatment modality, allowing easy visualization of possible recurrence. The series of reported cases shows that palatal obturator rehabilitation improves patients’ quality of life, reestablishing the masticatory, phonetic, and aesthetic functions, reinserting the oncologic patient into the socio-affective environment with confidence and self-esteem. The surgical treatment of tumors in the maxilla can cause oroantral communication. Partial or total maxillectomy always impairs the most different degrees of functionality of the oral cavity. Patients who have maxillectomy can be rehabilitated with reconstructive surgery or obturator prostheses with or without osseointegratable implants. Previous radiotherapy contraindicates dental implants, due to the risk of osteoradionecrosis. The morphologic and functional limitations resulting from the oncological surgery require careful, individualized, and integral planning. Rehabilitation of patients with maxillary defects using obturator prosthesis is an appropriate and not invasive treatment modality, allowing easy visualization of possible recurrence. The series of reported cases shows that palatal obturator rehabilitation improves patients’ quality of life, reestablishing the masticatory, phonetic, and aesthetic functions, reinserting the oncologic patient into the socio-affective environment with confidence and self-esteem.