All-in-one-piece type prosthesis combining an obturator, a facial prosthesis, and glasses for the rehabilitation of midfacial defect and its speech evaluation: A clinical report

Abstract

This case report describes the use of an all-in-one-type prosthesis that combines an obturator, a facial prosthesis, and glasses in a 70-year-old man with a mid-facial defect caused by oral squamous cell carcinoma. The patient had undergone maxillary resection and postoperative recovery with an obturator; however, slurred speech, water leakage from the nose, and aesthetic issues persisted. The all-in-one-type prosthesis was designed to improve speech and aesthetics by connecting the obturator and facial prosthesis with a magnet and connecting the epithese to the glasses. The prosthesis was fabricated by a dental technician, who created a wax pattern of the epithese directly on the patient's face and used it to fabricate a custom-made epithelial prototype. The final prosthesis was fitted and adjusted for optimal position and comfort. The improvement in speech function was evaluated via formant analysis and nasalance evaluation and found to be satisfactory. (Int J Maxillofac Prosthetics 2023;6:20-24)