A Consideration of the Mandibular Movements in Hemi-mandibulectomy Patients

Abstract

The success of prosthetic treatment for hemi-mandibulectomy patients depends on many clinical factors, such as the extent of the defect site, presence of reconstructive surgery, and number of remaining teeth. Furthermore, displacement of the mandibular segment to the defect side, causing unstable mandibular position and abnormal mandibular movements, is also a critical factor.
The purpose of this study was to observe the clinical aspect of the mandibular movement of mandibulectomy patients to reveal their characteristics. The movements of the condylar point （kinematic axis point） and the incisal point were measured for five mandibulectomy patients by using a mandibular movement analyzer （ARCUSⓇ digma, KaVo, Germany）. Although the paths of the incisal point in opening and closing movements in the frontal plane had obviously drifted to the defect side, the remaining condyle could only slide within a certain limit. Judging from these findings, measurement and analysis of the mandibular movements of such patients are confirmed to be useful for their prosthetic treatment.