Aim of the study: the treatment of oral cancer requires different surgical approaches such as marginal or segmental mandibular resection in order to allow a safe removal of the neoplastic lesion. The aim of this work is to evaluate the efficacy of an implant-supported denture rehabilitation for restoring oral function and facial appearance on a hemimandibulectomized patient.
Materials and methods: the patient was a 64 years old man, hard smoker and moderate drinker. Due to a jaw neoplastic lesion, he underwent a hemimandibulectomy, followed by the insertion of 4 implant fixtures at the chin cap symphysis site. The denture rehabilitation consisted in an over-denture mounted onto a bar furnished by a condylar eminence in articulation with the glenoid fossa of the upper denture.
Results: this type of implant-supported denture rehabilitation allows the recovery of the masticatory function and the mandibular reposition with a satisfactory restoration of the proper facial symmetry and appearance.
Conclusion: in the edentulous patient implant-supported denture with artificial condyle allows the recovery of the masticatory function without the need of additional operations to re-establish the temporomandibular joint anatomy. It is currently considered as a low invasive technique with very low risk of side effects.
Keywords: condylar prosthesis; hemimandibulectomy; implant-supported denture.