Silicone obturator: As an aid for retention of interim prosthesis in edentulous maxillary defect

• Published in: SRM Journal of Research in Dental Sciences Vol. 4; no. 1; pp. 39 - 42
• Main Authors: Suresh Venugopalan, K S Kiran Kumar
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications 01-01-2013
• Subjects: hollow bulb obturator; maxillectomy; oro-antral communication
• ISSN: 2772-5243; 2772-5251
• DOI: 10.4103/0976-433X.116832

A maxillofacial prosthesis intends to replace missing oral or facial structures and its associated functions, but the restoration gets complicated when patients are subjected to en bloc surgical removal of oral and facial structures due to metastasized neoplasm. The post-surgical radiation therapy may hold-up reconstructive procedures and implant therapy. Conventional hollow obturators constructed out of polymethyl methacralate can be reliable interim prostheses. However, whether an edentulous maxillary defect can retain a long serving interim prosthesis is questionable. In this case report, the advanced room temperature vulcanizing silicone material was used to construct the hollow obturator and the same was employed as a long serving retentive aid for the interim prosthesis in an edentulous maxillary defect.