Semin Plast Surg 2010; 24(3): 299-308
DOI: 10.1055/s-0030-1263071
© Thieme Medical Publishers

Prosthetic Rehabilitation of Defects of the Head and Neck

Thomas J. Salinas1
  • 1Department of Dental Specialties, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota
Further Information

Publication History

Publication Date:
20 August 2010 (online)

ABSTRACT

Patients afflicted with head and neck cancer, traumatic injuries to the head and neck, or those with congenital or developmental defects benefit from multidisciplinary team management. The head and neck region participates in complex physiologic processes that can often be impeded by these circumstances. Evaluation of the patient by the maxillofacial prosthodontist can assist the other members of the team in providing treatment planning options for the patients. Intraoral defects arising from these circumstances can be treated with prosthodontics that serve to assist with speech, swallowing, and to some degree mastication. If chemotherapeutic or radiation modalities are also used to treat the head and neck, assessment of the patient by the maxillofacial prosthodontist may prove to identify factors that may predispose to undesirable sequelae. Preventive treatment by elective tooth extraction, prosthodontic assessment, and patient education prove to assist in predictable management of these oftentimes complex presenting conditions. Facial defects arising from similar circumstances can be an alternative or adjunct to plastic surgical reconstruction and offer the added advantage of tumor surveillance in susceptible patients.

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Thomas J SalinasD.D.S. 

Associate Professor of Dentistry, Department of Dental Specialties, Mayo Clinic

200 1st Street SW, Rochester, MN 55905

Email: Salinas.thomas@mayo.edu