Total Rehabilitation by Edentulous Pa- Tients with Irregularity of the Alveolar Ridges

Introduction. The treatment of edentulous patients is always a challenge for the prosthodontists. It is connected with a lot of procedures aiming to reconstruct and replace the lost natural dentition and associated structures of the mandible and maxilla for patients who have lost all their remaining teeth. The basic objectives of complete denture Prosthodontics are the restoration of function, facial appearance and the maintenance of patient’s health. The aim of this work is the prosthetic treatment of patients with asymmetry of alveolar ridges, the difficulties connected with that treatment and the suitable techniques and approaches to overcome those problems. Material and methods. Twenty patients, twelve women and eight men, with an average age of 64±7 years were included in this investigation. All of them had different type and degree of irregularity of the alveolar ridges. The complaints of the patients were mainly connected with poor denture stability during mastication and with the esthetics. The treatment strategy of those patients included excellent impression of the peripheral seal, very careful measurement of the parameters of the vertical and horizontal occlusal plane, lingualized occlusion and esthetics improvement procedures. Results: All the twenty patients accepted the new dentures with comfort and esthetical satisfaction and assessed them to be significantly more satisfying in esthetic appearance, maxillary and mandibular denture retention and chewing ability. To six of them preliminary contacts were eliminated at the delivery appointment. On the second appointment by 3 patients from the third group and one from the first group decubital ulcers were treated. Conclusion. As complete dentures are the last consideration for the patient (excluding implant treatment) they must be designed and constructed with an emphasis on the preservation of the remaining structures.