Occlusal metal onlays in complete dentures

Abstract

Flabby tissues and enlarged maxillary tuberosities in completely edentulous patients arise as a consequence of combination syndrome which affects complete denture treatment planning. A completely edentulous 70-year-old male denture wearer is presented in this article with flabby tissues and enlarged maxillary tuberosities. Flabby tissues need to be recorded in an undisplaced state to avoid overcompression due to realeff effect. Wear of acrylic teeth and perforation of denture base in the posterior region of his existing denture denotes a lack of interocclusal space. This is due to downward displacement of maxillary tuberosities which affects the posterior interocclusal space and requires special consideration. This article describes the prosthodontic management of the presented challenges with regard to the impression technique used to record flabby tissue and the need to maintain the occlusal vertical dimension to prevent denture base wear using occlusal metal onlays.