title: Dental implant treatment in a young woman after marginal mandibulectomy for treatment of mandibular gingival carcinoma: a case report.
abstract: Dental implants play an important role in postoperative rehabilitation after surgical treatment of oral cancer through the provision of prosthetic tooth replacement. Two major implant prosthesis designs are available: fixed implant-supported prostheses and implant-supported overdentures. We herein report a case of a 16-year-old female patient who underwent alveolar ridge resection for treatment of mandibular gingival carcinoma. Following surgery, oral rehabilitation was attempted using an implant-supported overdenture on a gold bar retainer splinting four implants. However, the patient was not satisfied with this prosthesis because of mucosal pain and discomfort, and she gradually ceased its use. Consequently, contact with the opposing teeth caused wear of the prosthetic screws. We elected to replace the implant-supported overdenture with an implant-fixed prosthesis approximately 16 years after insertion of the overdenture to prevent further wear of the prosthetic screws. The patient was highly satisfied with the improved stability of the implant-fixed prosthesis. This case report indicates that the clinician must occasionally re-evaluate and sometimes alter the direction of treatment, even after definitive therapy has been completed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Hyogo College of Medicine, 1-1 Mukogawa-cho, Nishinomiya, Hyogo, 663-8501, Japan. ktaka@hyo-med.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Kazuki
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Takaoka
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Hyogo College of Medicine, 1-1 Mukogawa-cho, Nishinomiya, Hyogo, 663-8501, Japan.
authors.forename: Emi
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Segawa
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Hyogo College of Medicine, 1-1 Mukogawa-cho, Nishinomiya, Hyogo, 663-8501, Japan.
authors.forename: Michiyo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yamamura
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Hyogo College of Medicine, 1-1 Mukogawa-cho, Nishinomiya, Hyogo, 663-8501, Japan.
authors.forename: Yusuke
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zushi
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Hyogo College of Medicine, 1-1 Mukogawa-cho, Nishinomiya, Hyogo, 663-8501, Japan.
authors.forename: Masahiro
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Urade
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Hyogo College of Medicine, 1-1 Mukogawa-cho, Nishinomiya, Hyogo, 663-8501, Japan.
authors.forename: Hiromitsu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kishimoto
keywords: Implant-fixed prosthesis; Implant-supported overdenture; Oral cancer; Postoperative rehabilitation