Finger Prosthesis: An Economic and Esthetic Approach.

Fabrication of prosthetic fingers is more of an art than a science. The prosthetic finger must match the missing fingers or digits to such an extent to have a natural aesthetic look for the patient. This would build up the patient's confidence and prevent unwanted attraction by others. A patient, 47 years old, reported the loss of the middle finger of the right hand. The loss of the right middle finger was till the first phalanx, and it was distorted till the second phalanx. The patient wanted to have a natural look at his hand. Alginate impressions of the patient's amputated finger and the donor's relevant matching fingertip were made. A waxed prosthesis pattern was fabricated with the donor's fingertip. A wax trial was done in the patient, and was flasked. A heat cure acrylic was intrinsically painted with acrylic paint color to match the adjacent finger's skin tone, followed by packing these in the dewaxed mold, processed, trimmed, finished, and polished. This case report describes a method of obtaining or enhancing retention of the prosthetic finger by adopting a customized finger ring on the master cast and also customizing the prosthesis in the clinical rest position to have the aesthetic appearance in the resting condition of the palms and fingers. This method is cheaper and very easy to be adopted for affected people.

Evaluation and Comparison of Stress in Divergent and Convergent Collar Designs of Implants With Different Bone Densities: A Finite Element Study.

BACKGROUND: The failure and the success rate of an implant depends on biomechanical factors, esthetics and painless sterile implant surgery conditions, out of which stresses applied to the bone and its surrounding, bone-implant interface, material characteristics of the implant used and the strength of the bone and its surrounding are the important factors. This study aimed to evaluate the stress distribution of divergent collar design (DCD) and convergent collar design (CCD) implants placing them in four different densities of the bone (D1, D2, D3 and D4). The evaluation of the stress distribution of DCD and CCD was performed using the 3D finite element method (FEM), by placing them in four different bone densities. In addition to this, a comparison of the effect of DCD and CCD in terms of stress distribution in the bone was also done. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The software used to process the geometric characteristics of the missing first molar in the mandibular section were Ansys, version 19.2, CATIA, version 5, and Solidworks (Dassault Systèmes). Using these software, three models were designed and successfully restored using an all-ceramic crown implant. The first model was a geometric model of the first molar mandibular bone section, the second model was a cylindrical implant (4x10 mm) with a DCD and CCD, and the third model had titanium alloy (Ti-6Al-4V) properties incorporated into the implant. RESULTS: The D1 bone model showed the lowest stress concentration compared to D2, D3, D4. The DCD showed the lower stress and strain concentrations as compared to the CCD in the contiguous crestal bone in all the densities of the bone in both vertical and lateral or oblique loadings. The DCD with the D1 bone showed the least stress concentration around the crestal bone region. The results of this study also showed that the maximum von Mises stress was observed in the crestal region or the neck of the implant for both the convergent and divergent collar implant designs in all the four densities of the bone. CONCLUSION: Before a patient trial of a new implant design or a new implant material, finite element analysis (FEA) gives us a clear picture of what will be the patient bone response when an implant will be placed and loaded. FEA also gives us an opportunity to test a new implant material without putting a patient at risk. In this study, four different types of bone were incorporated with two different implant collar designs. Each implant assembly was subjected to vertical as well as oblique forces. The response of each bone type for the titanium alloy implant was recorded. A color-coded response for the magnitude and the location of the maximum stress received by the bone was observed. Maximum stresses were seen in the crestal region. As this is a computer-based model, dynamic loading was not possible. This study provided us with the possible outcome in patients under a static load. Further studies can be conducted in vivo to record dynamic loading responses as well as long-time loading responses.

Evaluation and Comparison of the Geometrical Relationship of Tooth and Lip Arcs and Their Correlation to Smile Arcs Between Males and Females in a North Indian Population.

Background With the increasing influence of social media, millennials and the generations that follow have increasingly pressing aesthetic concerns. Following this, there has been a sea change in treatment plans and procedures as well as the choice of material. Dentistry nowadays is dependent on digital data to compute and design prostheses; these technologies are often not readily available all over the world. The purpose of this research article is to measure the tooth arc (TA) and lip arc (LA) and their correlation to the smile arcs with a cohort consisting of males and females from a single center in northern India. The SA measurement, evaluation, and comparison of smile aesthetics in this young population may be used as a threshold to these smile variables so that prosthodontists can easily prevent or modify aesthetically displeasing features. This research article will be useful for cases requiring restorations and replacements of maxillary anterior teeth. Materials and methods In this research work, photographic analysis was used and photographs of hundred subjects were taken. The camera was fixed using a tripod, at an 11-inch distance from the face, so that a clear picture of the face could be taken from the tip of the nose to the chin. A digital single-lens reflex (DSLR) camera (Nikon D-60, with the Nikon DX AF-S Nikkor 18- 135mm lens, Tokyo, Japan) was used to take the facial photographs. As the posed smile is more predictable than the natural smile, subjects were asked to smile while keeping their natural head position (NHP). Parabolas were made with Math-GV software () and superimposed on the photographs to calculate the value. Results The mean LA shows greater curvature in the female population. There was no significant (p=0.92) relationship between TA curvature in the male (0.07±0.03) and female populations (0.08 ± 0.03), whereas the LA in males (0.10±0.03) and LA in females (0.12±0.04) showed a significant relationship (p=0.03) between both groups. The LA of the female population was found to be steeper than that of the male population. This study signifies that there is no significant difference (p=0.92) between the skeletal makeup of the male and female populations but the muscular activity and muscle function differ in the male and female populations. Regarding arc-wise comparisons in both male and female populations, the male population showed a statistically insignificant (p=0.27) correlation in lip and tooth arcs. But in the female population, the correlation between these arcs was statistically significant (p=0.01). Conclusion These study results provide useful guidance for evaluating anterior teeth and planning treatment for aesthetic restorative care. Clinicians should consider not only racial and gender differences when developing an aesthetic treatment plan but also the symmetry of the facial structure which should be in harmony with the dental arc. The harmony of each determinant of aesthetics, with each other, aids in promoting beauty as a whole.