A comprehensive review of extraoral maxillofacial material: Part I

Abstract

Recently, the use of extraoral maxillofacial materials for prosthetic rehabilitation of lost facial structures due to trauma, surgical resection, acquired infection, congenital abnormalities, and burns has heightened dramatically. Extraoral maxillofacial materials have contributed sufficient resolutions in conditions where thorough surgical techniques leave sizable facial defects that jeopardize function and esthetics or situation where surgical reconstruction is contraindicated. At the moment, no ideal extraoral maxillofacial materials have been developed that can mimic human skin. Each material has its own advantages and disadvantages. This article is a comprehensive review done in an attempt to present an overview of the extraoral maxillofacial materials used in the maxillofacial prosthodontics. A computerized exploration was conducted to extract articles using keywords facial defects, extra oral maxillofacial material, maxillofacial rehabilitation, prostheses from PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science and Google Scholar. This article has been divided into four parts. Part I dealt with historical background; Part II dealt with review of some early extraoral maxillofacial materials; part III dealt with majorly with silicone elastomers as an extraoral maxillofacial material; and part IV dealt with recent advances.