A Case of Dento-Maxillary Prosthesis Using Undercuts in Nostril Cavity for a Maxillary Edentulous Patient

Abstract

Case overview: We report a case of a 75-year-old male who was admitted to our Prosthodontics Department in December 2011 with a chief complaint of instability during mastication and speech of a maxillofacial prosthesis that was placed in 2009. The patient had maxillary edentulism with partial maxillary defects. We fabricated an alternative maxillofacial prosthesis retained by undercut regions, located anterior and posterior to the defect. The two-piece design enabled the anterior section to be inserted through the nasal aperture.

Discussion: Maxillary edentulism enabled the anterior section of the prosthesis to be inserted through the nasal aperture and be magnetically connected to the main prosthesis in the sinus cavity. Stability of the maxillofacial prosthesis was achieved through the use of large undercuts.

Conclusion: We successfully improved the patients’ masticatory and speech function by designing a stable maxillofacial prosthesis that made effective use of existing undercuts.