Modification of existed prosthesis into a flexible wall hollow bulb obturator by permanent silicone soft liner for a hemimaxillectomy patient with restricted mouth opening

Evaluation and comparison of retention and patient satisfaction with milled polyetheretherketone versus metal maxillary obturators

STATEMENT OF PROBLEM

Metal and polyetheretherketone (PEEK) have been used to rehabilitate maxillary defects with obturators, each having advantages and disadvantages. However, patient satisfaction with the obturator retention of each material is unclear.

PURPOSE

The purpose of this crossover clinical study was to compare retention and patient satisfaction between a milled cobalt chromium and a milled PEEK framework, each with a hollow bulb extension in polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA).

MATERIAL AND METHODS

Twenty patients who had received unilateral total maxillectomy and were treated in the prosthodontic department's maxillofacial clinic were enrolled in this crossover study. Each participant wore 2 different types of obturators for 6 months after insertion. Type CoCr received a milled cobalt chromium framework with a hollow bulb extension in PMMA first, and type Pk received a milled modified PEEK (BioHPP) framework with a hollow bulb extension in PMMA first. Patient satisfaction and retention force were measured immediately, at 3 months, and at 6 months after obturator insertions. The Fischer exact, chi-squared, and Monte Carlo tests were used to compare qualitative data. One-way ANOVA with the post hoc Tukey test was used for pair-wise comparison, and repeated measures ANOVA was used to compare before and after treatment at 3 and 6 months.

RESULTS

No significant difference was found between types in obturator insertion (P>.999), appearance of the upper lip (P>.999), mouth feeling (P=.301), pronunciation of words (P=.217), and talking in public (P=.589). A significant difference between types was found in speech after 6 months of obturator insertion (P=.016), swallowing liquids and food (P=.04), masticating foods (P=.007), appearance of clasps on anterior teeth (P=.002), satisfaction with appearance (P=.005), or avoidance of family events (P=.014) after 6 months of insertion. Types of obturators showed a statistically significant decrease in retention force with time (P<.001).

CONCLUSIONS

Although the retention force was less with PEEK than with Co-Cr clasps engaging the same undercuts, this retention force was adequate for retaining removable partial dentures. Co-Cr clasps can be considered better than PEEK clasps because they engage the same undercuts regarding loss of retention with time. Quality of life in patients after maxillary resection could be improved by using maxillary obturators. Type Pk was better than type CoCr in terms of esthetics, but the retention of the PEEK obturator after 6 months decreased because of wear, leading to difficulty swallowing food or liquids, mastication, and speech.

Patient Satisfaction regarding Conventional One-Piece Versus Two-Piece Magnet-Retained Obturator for Patients with Complete Edentulism: A Preliminary Crossover Clinical Trial

Purpose:

This study aimed at evaluating patients' satisfaction with conventional one-piece obturators versus two-piece magnet-retained obturators in completely edentulous patient maxillectomy cases.

Materials and Methods:

Ten completely edentulous participants with hemimaxillectomy (8 males and 2 females) were selected in a crossover study. Participants received a conventional obturator one-piece and two-piece obturators connected by magnet attachment in alternate periods (sequences A‐B and B‐A), and outcomes were assessed after 1 week, 3 months, and 6 months Evaluation was made using Obturator Functioning Scale (OFS) and Oral Health Impact Profile for edentulous people (OHIP-EDENT). One way ANOVA test and multivariate analysis of variance with a general linear model with repeated measures was used to test the impact of the group, time, and order on each of the studied scores (α=.05).

Results:

Magnet design showed a statistically significant lower score (P <.050) than the conventional design regarding the overall satisfaction score of OFS along all follow-up periods. Concerning OHIP-EDENT, the magnet design showed a statistically significant lower score (P <.050) than the conventional design regarding total functional limitations, total physical pain, and total social disability along all follow-up periods while for total psychological discomfort, total physical disability, and total handicap, no statistically significant difference was observed between both groups (P >.050).

Conclusion:

Two-pieces magnet-retained obturator could provide better satisfaction and better restoration of orofacial function than the conventional one to manage completely edentulous patients.

Clinical Trial Registration Number:

NCT05066828

Efficacy of silicone soft reliner on the obturator prosthesis after maxillectomy for oral malignant tumors: A single-arm prospective interventional study

Background

There is insufficient evidence for the efficacy of silicone soft reliner on the obturator prosthesis after maxillectomy for oral malignant tumors.

Objective

To verify the efficacy of silicone soft reliner on the obturator prosthesis after maxillectomy, by evaluating masticatory performance and quality of life (QoL).

Methods

This was a single‐arm prospective interventional study, verifying the efficacy of silicone soft reliner (GC RELINE II®) on the maxillary obturator prosthesis. Data were obtained from a comparison of the endpoints after 14 days of continuous use of acrylic and silicone soft‐lined prostheses. The primary endpoint was masticatory performance. The secondary endpoints were occlusal performance and oral health‐related QoL (OHRQoL). The masticatory performance, occlusal performance, and OHRQoL were assessed by glucose concentration, maximum bite force, and the Japanese version of Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP‐J49), respectively.

Results

This study included five patients (two males, three females), aged between 71 and 88 years, with a median of 74 years. The median of glucose concentration indicated a statistically significant improvement between the acrylic resin (99.6 mg/dL) and silicone soft reliner (126.0 mg/dL) obturator prosthesis (p = .043). There was no significant difference in the median of maximum bite force between the acrylic resin (302.0 N) and silicone soft reliner (250.0 N) obturator prosthesis (p = .893). Functional limitations domain of the OHIP‐J49 indicated a statistically significant improvement between the acrylic resin and silicone soft reliner obturator prosthesis (p = .043).

Conclusions

This study indicated that an obturator relined with soft silicone improved masticatory performance and the OHRQoL post‐maxillectomy.

Rehabilitation after severe maxillectomy using a magnetic obturator (a case report)

This report presents oral rehabilitation of a maxillectomy patient after cancer surgery by fabricating a prosthesis comprising of a denture and a custom-made magnetic retainer. Herein, we present a case of hemimaxillectomy due to squamous cell carcinoma, which was efficiently rehabilitated with implants. Patient's condition and his profile acceptably improved following rehabilitation.

Two-piece obturator using "lock-and-key" mechanism

This paper describes a method used for the fabrication of a two-piece denture obturator for a patient who had surgical removal of the premaxilla due to squamous cell carcinoma. The patient had been wearing a two-piece obturator but encountered difficulty in inserting the prosthesis. In this case report, a lock-and-key mechanism was used to easily assemble the two-piece prosthesis intraorally. A keyhole was designed on the obturator to act as the lock while the denture was used as the key that fitted into the keyhole. This mechanism facilitated insertion and provided retention for the prosthesis. Heat-cured resilient acrylic material (Molloplast B®), which was used to fabricate the obturator, was a nonirritant, nontoxic, tissue-compatible material. It also did not contain plasticizers, therefore eliminating the problems associated with leaching out of plasticizers. The use of this flexible and resilient material allowed the obturator to engage in the undercuts without causing trauma and irritation to the soft tissues in the region of the defect. To conclude, the "lock-and-key" mechanism used in the fabrication of the two-piece denture obturator provided the patient with a lightweight, comfortable, and user-friendly form of prostheses.