Application of implant-supported dental prostheses to maxillectomy patients

Abstract

In the present paper, our experiences with rehabilitation of oral function and implant-supported dental prostheses in patients who had been treated for maxillary tumors are presented. The dental implants used in the present study were hydroxyapatite plasma-sprayed or flamesprayed titanium with an overlay denture-type superstructure. Masticatory and articulatory functions with implant-supported dental prostheses were examined in two cases.
The results of dental prescale and color-developing gum revealed lower levels of function than in normal subjects. Scores on Yamamoto's occlusion scale were 4 to 6. These results indicated that masticatory function was considerably improved. The results of speech intelligibility tests indicated that articulatory function was also considerably improved.
Our experiences strongly suggested that implant-supported dental prostheses are useful for the rehabilitation of masticatory and speech functions of maxillectomy patients.