A case report of complete denture rehabilitation in an edentulous patient after surgical treatment of lower gingival carcinoma

Abstract

Patient: The patient was a 72-year-old female with edentulous upper and lower jaws, wearing no dentures. The case was diagnosed with masticatory dysfunction, dysarthria and esthetic disorder caused by edentulous upper and lower jaws after surgery for lower gingival cancer. The patient was treated using the usual treatment steps for complete dentures.

Discussion: In this case, denture-support areas of the mandibular residual ridge had been lost due to lower gingival cancer. It was considered that high patient satisfaction on both subjective and objective evaluations was achieved by establishing an adequate denture border, polished surface form, arrangement of artificial teeth, and elimination of factors that hindered the stability of the lower denture.

Conclusion: Maxillofacial prosthetic treatment with complete dentures, functionally harmonizing the remaining tissue and oral cavity after surgery, was performed. Both functional and esthetic improvements were observed, contributing to improvement of the patient’s QOL.