The presence of a palatal defect can cause functional, aesthetic, and social distress to the patients. The design and fabrication of oral appliance (obturators) to occlude oral cavity from nasal passage/ antrum or to replace parts of the palate missing due to congenital defects or lost through tumours, infection or trauma has been a considerable challenge for clinicians however significant adva...

V.A. Kumar T.M. Hofstede L.E. Ginsberg SUMMARY: Palatal tumors are often treated with palatectomy or maxillectomy. The resulting surgical defect produces an oroantral communication. An obturator is a removable prosthesis used to close the palatal or maxillectomy defect. Fifteen patients who had undergone palatectomy or maxillectomy for carcinoma and subsequent obturator prosthesis placement wer...

Palatal tumors are often treated with palatectomy or maxillectomy. The resulting surgical defect produces an oroantral communication. An obturator is a removable prosthesis used to close the palatal or maxillectomy defect. Fifteen patients who had undergone palatectomy or maxillectomy for carcinoma and subsequent obturator prosthesis placement were retrospectively studied. Obturators were chara...

Prosthodontic management of palatal defects is fundamental to improve patient's life undergoing to a maxillary surgical treatment. A lot of maxillary defects are a direct consequence of surgical treatment of malformations, neoplasms or trauma. The obturators are prosthesis used to close palatal defects after maxillectomy, to restore masticatory function and to improve speech. The primary goals ...

Palatal rugae, are the ridges on the anterior part of palatal mucosa, each side of the median palatal raphe and behind the incisive papilla. Rugae patterns have been studied for various purposes, and have been established to have a role in positive identification of individuals in suspected cases. The present study aims at determining the effect of growth, on palatal rugae patterns and to analy...

UNLABELLED Palatal rugae refer to the ridges on the anterior part of the palatal mucosa, each side of the median palatal raphe and behind the incisive papilla. Various studies on different populations have reported unique rugal patterns within each population. AIM To study, analyse and report the significant palatal rugae patterns among West Godavari District population and compare with the p...

BACKGROUND Forensic odontology plays important role in identification of human remains in mass disasters such as air crash, tsunami, and accidents. Palatal rugae act as an ideal requisite for human identification as they are present in all victims and are resistant to changes such as aging and trauma. The study aimed to analyze differences in shape and number of palatal rugae in population from...

BACKGROUND Although prosthetic obturation is the "gold standard" for restoration of hard-palate defects, obturators can be problematic. We present 10 cases of palatal reconstruction with the radial forearm free flap and compare patient satisfaction with defect-matched patients rehabilitated with prosthetic obturation. METHODS Twelve patients who underwent radial forearm free flap (RFFF) recon...

BACKGROUND Palatal obturators and microvascular free flaps are both used to treat patients with maxillectomy defects, however, the optimal technique remains controversial. METHODS A retrospective analysis of 113 patients undergoing maxillectomy for cancer was performed. Seventy-three patients received an obturator and 40 patients were reconstructed with a free flap. RESULTS Speech intelligi...