Difficulties and Future Prospects for the Maxillofacial Prosthetic Treatment in the Department of Dentistry and Oral Surgery of the Regional Core Hospital

Abstract

Our hospital is the regional core hospital in the Pacific coastal region of Fukushima prefecture. As our hospital has departments of oral surgery, otorhinolaryngology and head and neck surgery, and plastic surgery, there are many patients needing maxillofacial prosthetic treatments. However, it is more difficult to receive treatment in regional cities than in a metropolis, and visiting a distant university hospital for treatment places both an economic and physical burden on patients. Recently, due to population aging, treatment requires community-based medical care. This paper describes the facts and problems of maxillofacial prosthetic treatment in our regional core hospital and considers the future prospects of treatment in cooperation with general practitioners of dental clinics in the same area.