Infraocclusion Treated with Removable Prosthesis on Occlusal Surface of Severely Attritioned Teeth

A 66-year-old man visited our department with the chief complaint of poor esthetics due to loss of a fixed partial denture in a maxillary incisor tooth and difficulty in mastication due to an ill-fitting, mandibular removable partial denture. An analysis of the occlusal vertical dimension resulted in a diagnosis of infraocclusion. After increasing vertical dimension with a provisional restoration and treatment denture which covered the attritioned surface, a definitive prosthesis was applied. Untreated loss of molars and severe attrition of the remaining teeth caused infraocclusion in this patient, which increased occlusal loading on the incisor teeth and induced detachment of the prosthesis in the maxillary incisors. Esthetic appearance was improved and masticatory dysfunction restored by increasing vertical dimension and oral rehabilitation. Mildly invasive prosthetic treatment involved application of a removable partial denture which covered the attritioned surface, not only infraocclusion but masticatory dysfunction and poor esthetics were also treated.