ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION: Gingival shade matching, often overlooked, plays an integral role in designing prostheses for patients with high smile lines, gingival defects, and cases where the acrylic flange of removable dentures extends into the aesthetic zone. The purpose of this study was to find the most prevalent gingival shade in a sample of the South Indian population. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 110 participants were included in the study based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The standard daylight method of shade matching was used for this study. The participants were seated in a dental chair in the vertical position with their heads supported, their mouths open, and cheek retractors in place. The study area, gingiva, and vestibular region in relation to maxillary and mandibular right central incisors were dried with a three-way syringe, 15cm away, for 3 seconds before shade matching for 5 seconds at each reference point with an Ivoclar Vivadent IPS Dsign shade guide. CONCLUSION: The most prevalent shade in the marginal and vestibular regions of the gingiva of the South Indian population was found to be GM2 shade, while the most prevalent shade of the attached gingiva was found to be G2 shade. A good percentage of the attached gingival shade was not matched with the tabs available in this shade guide.
ABSTRACT
Rehabilitation of maxillofacial defects is an arduous task that involves restoring the form and function of the resected part of the defect. Obturators are the preferred choice of treatment for patients after resection involving the maxilla. Rehabilitation aims to separate the oral and nasal cavity and maintain anatomy while also assisting the patient with mastication, maintaining occlusion, supporting the mandible and facial tissues, and reestablishing speech and esthetics. Following surgery, a prosthetic evaluation is performed in which magnets are attached to the prosthesis to restore function and speech, as well as retention, stability, and quality of life. This case report describes how a hollow bulb obturator was used to treat a partial maxillectomy patient with magnets and clasps for patient rehabilitation.
ABSTRACT
PURPOSE: This study aims to evaluate the effect of rehabilitation with complete dentures versus implant-retained overdenture on activity in various parts of the brain cognition in a geriatric edentulous population via Functional MRI (fMRI) studies and the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). METHODS: Ten completely edentulous patients were rehabilitated with both complete dentures and two-implant retained overdentures for three months each. fMRI studies were performed for each modality during chewing and recall tasks at three time periods: T0: Completely Edentulous (CE) T1: after three months of wearing Conventional Complete Dentures (CD) and T2: after three months of wearing Implant-retained Overdentures (IOD). The Z scores obtained from the fMRI at these phases of examination were tabulated and correlated with MMSE scores obtained at the corresponding time periods. RESULTS: Z scores obtained during the memory recall tasks at T2 were the greatest (Prefrontal Cortex (p=0.059) and Hippocampus (p=0.036). The MMSE scores obtained were significantly higher for the IODs when compared to the CDs and Baseline values (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: IODs may potentially result in superior sensory feedback in edentulous patients and lead to improved cognitive performance when compared to conventional complete dentures.
