Purpose: The present study was designed to assess changes in oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) and nutritional status (NS) of edentulous patients before and after the insertion of complete dentures in a dental school in India. Materials and methods: A longitudinal observational study was carried out among 100 patients. A face-to-face interview was conducted for eligible participants, and the questionnaires—geriatric oral health assessment index (GOHAI) and oral health impact profile-14 (OHIP-14) were administered to determine the OHRQoL of patients. A mini nutritional assessment-short form (MNA-SF) was used to assess the NS. The questionnaires were filled 1 week before denture insertion to 1, 3, and 6 months postinsertion. The data obtained were subjected to statistical analysis. Results: A great improvement in OHRQoL and NS of edentulous patients was observed after the insertion of complete dentures. The overall mean OHIP score before treatment was 3.35 + 0.32, and it decreased to 0.17 ± 0.02 at 6 months after treatment (p = 0.001). The overall mean GOHAI score increased from 1.53 ± 0.14 before treatment to 2.46 ± 0.08 after 6 months (p = 0.001). The mean MNA score significantly increased from 0.69 + 0.26 to 2.28 ± 0.10 after 6 months of wearing complete dentures (p = 0.001). Conclusion: Low NS is a key indicator associated with poor OHRQoL among completely edentulous patients. In the present study, a great improvement in OHRQoL and NS of denture wearers was evident postinsertion from the mean OHIP, GOHAI, and MNA scores.

Purpose: The purpose of this preliminary survey is to assess the knowledge and perceptions of clinical year dental students toward dental implants and dental implant treatment. Materials and methods: This cross-sectional descriptive first survey was conducted on 3rd, 4th, and 5th (final) year undergraduate dental students from the University of Dental Medicine, Yangon, Myanmar, by using the nine-item closed-ended questionnaire (500 questionnaires) under the approval of the Research and Ethics Committee of the University in 2019. Data were analyzed by percentage frequency distribution. Results: A total of 489 students participated in this survey, with a response rate of 97.8%. Most of the students (42.54%) claimed that they had been “poorly” informed about implantology. The majority of the students (59.92%) believed that “longevity” is the main advantage of dental implants, and 31.70% thought “experience of the operator” is the most important factor for implant success. A total of 29.04% agreed that 10–20 years is the longevity of dental implants and 46.63% of the respondents concurred that dental implants need additional care procedures than natural teeth. A large majority of the respondents (63.60%) agreed dental implant treatment is “very difficult” compared to other dental procedures. Most of the students have insufficient knowledge of dental implant manufacturing and the local market situation. Around 67.28% concluded that economic feasibility would limit implant treatment in Myanmar. Conclusion: The knowledge and perceptions of clinical year dental students toward dental implantology have been recognized as deficient. Therefore, it is necessary to add more specific education programs in implant dentistry into the current undergraduate courses.

Purpose: The purpose of the present study was the comparative evaluation of the positional accuracy of different types of splinting materials used in implant impressions with the open tray technique. Materials and methods: A clear heat cure acrylic resin mandibular master reference model was used with four implants in positions A, B, D, and E. Open tray direct impression copings were fastened to the implants and splinted using different materials: bite registration paste, composite resin, pattern resin bars, and photopolymerized resin. One-step putty wash impression was made in a custom-made open tray, and the cast was poured. Healing abutments were attached to the implants in master reference model and to the lab analogs in sample casts and analyzed using a coordinate measuring machine (CMM) for comparison. Descriptive statistics were done. Shapiro–Wilk test was done to check the normality, followed by parametric tests for comparisons. Intergroup comparison was performed using one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), after which pair-wise comparison was made using Games-Howell post-hoc test. Results: Open tray impression copings splinted with materials of all four groups showed minimal variation in positions of multiple implants. Photopolymerized acrylic resin showed the least deviation from a master model for three-dimensional (3D) distance between implants 1 and 2 (3D_1_2), with a mean difference of 0.058 (p = 0.629); and also, between implants 1 and 4 viz 3D_1_4, the difference was least for photopolymerized resin to be 0.007 (p = 0.993). For distance 3D_1_3, there was least deviation of 0.102 (p = 0.001) for bite registration paste. Thus, photopolymerized resin followed by bite registration paste and nanocomposite resin performed comparable to and better than pattern resin blocks in the present study. Conclusion: Photopolymerized resin can be considered a promising and effective splinting material, saving clinical time and enhancing patient acceptance. It also eliminates the need for splinting, sectioning, and resplinting necessary in conventionally used pattern resin techniques.

Purpose: The purpose of the study was to evaluate the visual shade matching performance of dental students using two conceptually different shade guides under three different artificial light sources. Materials and methods: The shade matching performance of 100 (50 males and 50 females) undergraduate dental students was evaluated in a custom-made booth with two conceptually different shade guides, VITAPAN classical, and VITA 3D-Master, under three different artificial light sources: incandescent lamp with a color temperature of 2750 K, compact fluorescent lamp () with a color temperature of 6500 K, and light-emitting diode (LED) with a color temperature of 4000 K. In the viewing booth, the shades of the middle third of the selected shade tabs of two different shade guide sets were matched with the help of the other two shade guide sets. Results: Out of 4800 shade matches done by 100 participants, only 34.27% were done correctly. Each participant performed 48 shade matches; 24 with VITAPAN classical and 24 with VITA 3D-Master. Female students performed better at shade matching than male students. There was a significant difference in mean scores of shades matching with the VITAPAN classical shade guide under different lights (p < 0.0001). A significant difference was also found in mean scores of shades matching with the VITA 3D-Master shade guide under different lights (p < 0.0001). The lighter shades were better matched by the students than the comparatively darker shades. No significant difference was found in mean scores of correct shades matching between the VITAPAN classical shade guide and VITA 3D-Master shade guide under different illuminants (p > 0.05). Conclusion: The light source and lighting condition had a greater impact on shade matching performance than the shade guide. CFL or artificial cool daylight was found significantly better for shade matching in a dental setup than the other two illuminants used in this study. Although no significant difference was seen in shade matching performance with two different types of shade guides, the intraobserver agreement was better with the VITA 3D-Master.

Background: Our country struggled with a plethora of mucormycosis cases during the second wave of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The dental community was burdened with different maxillectomy defects in which bilateral maxillectomy cases posed a significant challenge for rehabilitation. Rehabilitating a patient after maxillectomy with conventional obturator prosthesis to close oronasal communication can be an effective way of restoring speech, deglutition, and mastication, and preventing nasal regurgitation. But the main problem is the retention of an obturator in large defects, and there is sparse literature pertaining to the management of bilateral maxillectomy cases in the surgical obturation phase. Purpose: The purpose of this case was to rehabilitate patients with a bilateral maxillectomy defect in the healing phase with an obturator prosthesis retained using extraoral aid where intraoral retention is not possible. Technique: Two different modification techniques in the extraoral retentive method were tried here to overcome difficulties encountered during the rehabilitation of such cases, with special emphasis on augmenting patient comfort. The customized headgear facebow assembly was used for extraoral retention. In the first case, an orthodontic was used to retain the prosthesis to the customized headgear or extraoral elastic straps through orthodontic elastics. The orthodontic facebow has two parts inner and outer bow. The inner bow was attached to the obturator at the level of the occlusion plane by fabricating bilateral posterior acrylic pillars so that the outer bow passes along the commissures of the mouth, but there was the problem of lip trap and feeding difficulties due to the horizontal connecting bar. To overcome these problems, in the second case, the facebow was customized using a 19 gauge orthodontic wire to eliminate horizontal component. Conclusion: The obturator with extraoral retention in the healing phase is a viable retentive aid in patients with extensive maxillary defects, and it was found that the patient was more comfortable with a customized facebow-retained obturator.

Ablative surgery in the head and neck region may lead to a maxillary defect. Such defects can be rehabilitated either surgically or prosthetically. Maxillary obturator prosthesis helps in the restoration of masticatory function, phonetics, and aesthetics. One of the important requirements for the fabrication of a successful maxillary obturator is an accurate impression of the defect. In certain clinical conditions, accurate impression recording becomes a challenging task. This article reports the clinical experience of 11 patients with large maxillary defect/maxillary defect with limited mouth opening rehabilitated with obturator prosthesis, using an incremental impression technique to record preliminary impressions.

Auricular defects in human beings result from congenital malformations, acquired from trauma or surgical resection of associated tumors and usually lack hard or soft tissue undercuts. The prostheses are retained with various chemical and mechanical aids such as skin adhesives, spectacles, and implants. Craniofacial titanium implants offer benefits such as absence of allergic skin reactions, produced with the other retentive aids in the form of skin adhesives. The most common problems associated with extraoral maxillofacial implants is peri-implantitis and soft tissue reactions such as contact dermatitis at the implant site which are further aggravated by the presence and continuous growth of hair follicles in the temporal region. Difficulty in hygiene maintenance at the implant site results in serious soft tissue complications difficult to manage. The case report presents the rehabilitation of an auricular defect that exhibited chronic dermatitis at the implant site, with silicone auricular prosthesis using custom fabricated abutments along with bar and clip assembly. This resulted in improved parallelism between abutments and provided a self-cleansing area below the bar assembly.

Polyetheretherketone (PEEK) has been advocated for medical use for many years because of its unique mechanical and biological properties. Recently many researchers proposed and successfully demonstrated the use of PEEK as a material of choice for various prosthodontics treatment modalities. The purpose of this case report is to show the feasibility of the use of PEEK as a choice of material for the fabrication of the maxillary obturator. The patient was presented with partial maxillectomy and seeking treatment to improve his speech, mastication, and function. PEEK was chosen as a material of choice for the fabrication of the framework based on properties like biocompatibility, inertness, low density, and ease of processing. The direct retainer components of the PEEK framework showed acceptable retentive properties. Also, the weight of the prosthesis was significantly reduced. Overall, the patient was satisfied with the function, esthetics, and comfort of the prosthesis.