Objective:The aim of this cross-sectional study was to compare the masticatory performance and oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) of edentulous maxillectomy patients with and without implant-supported obturator prostheses.
Material and methods:Nineteen edentulous maxillectomy patients with completed prosthetic obturator treatment in the upper jaw participated in this study. In nine patients, the obturator prosthesis was supported by implants in the remaining bone of the midface and/or skull base to improve retention. Masticatory performance was measured objectively by the mixing ability test (MAT) and subjectively by three OHRQoL questionnaires: (a) the Oral Health Impact Profile for EDENTulous people (OHIP-EDENT), (b) the Obturator Function Scale (OFS), and (c) the Dutch Liverpool Oral Rehabilitation Questionnaire version 3 (LORQv3-NL). The independent t test and the Mann-Whitney U test were used to test for differences in outcomes of patients with and without implant-retention of their obturator prostheses.Results: Patients with implant-supported obturator prostheses had significantly better masticatory and oral function, reported fewer chewing difficulties, and had less discomfort during food intake than did patients with a conventional obturator.
Conclusion:Supporting prosthetic obturators after maxillectomy with implants improve oral functioning, chewing, and eating comfort. This treatment modality is a viable technique to improve the functionality of prosthetic rehabilitation in patients who have undergone maxillectomy. K E Y W O R D S dental implant, mastication, maxillary defect, maxillofacial reconstruction, midfacial defect, obturator, quality of life S U PP O RTI N G I N FO R M ATI O N Additional supporting information may be found online in the Supporting Information section. How to cite this article: Buurman DJM, Speksnijder CM, Engelen BHBT, Kessler P. Masticatory performance and oral health-related quality of life in edentulous maxillectomy patients: A cross-sectional study to compare implantsupported obturators and conventional obturators. Clin Oral
Objective
The aim of this study was to compare masticatory performance and patient reported eating ability of maxillectomy patients with implant‐supported obturators and patients with surgically reconstructed maxillae.
Methods
This cross‐sectional study was conducted at the University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada and at Maastricht University Medical Centre (MUMC+), Maastricht, The Netherlands. Eleven surgically reconstructed maxillectomy patients have been included at University of Alberta and nine implant‐supported obturator patients at MUMC+. The mixing ability test (MAT) was used to measure masticatory performance. In addition, the oral health related quality of life (OHRQoL) was measured with shortened versions of the oral health impact profile (OHIP) questionnaire. Values of the implant‐supported obturator group versus the surgical reconstruction group were compared with independent t‐tests in case of normal distribution, otherwise the Mann‐Whitney U test was applied.
Results
Patients with reconstructed maxillae and patients with implant‐supported obturator prostheses had similar mean mixing ability indices (18.20 ± 2.38 resp. 18.66 ± 1.37;
P
= .614). The seven OHRQoL questions also showed no differences in masticatory ability between the two groups.
Conclusion
With caution, the results of this study seem to confirm earlier results that implant‐supported obturation is a good alternative to surgical reconstruction for all Class II maxillary defects. With both techniques, the masticatory performance is sufficiently restored, with careful planning being highly desirable.
Introduction: Radiotherapy is often used to treat head and neck malignancies, with inevitable effects on the surrounding healthy tissues. We have reviewed the literature concerning the experimental irradiation of facial bones in animals. Materials and Methods: A PubMed search was performed to retrieve animal experiments on the irradiation of facial bones that were published between January 1992 and January 2012. The search terms were "irradiation facial bone" and "irradiation osteoradionecrosis". Results: Thirty-six publications were included. The irradiation sources were Cobalt 60 , orthovoltage, 4 -6 megavolt photons, and brachytherapy. The total dose varied between 8 -60 Gy in single or multiple fractions. The literature presents a broad range of animal studies that differ in terms of the in vivo model, irradiation, observation period, and evaluation of results. Discussion: The different animal models used leave many questions unanswered. A detailed and standardized description of the methodology and results would facilitate the comparability of future studies.
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