title: Customized Cheek Plumper with Friction Lock Attachment for a Completely Edentulous Patient to Enhance Esthetics: A Clinical Report.
abstract: Prosthetic rehabilitation of a completely edentulous patient should never be restricted to the replacement of missing teeth. The ultimate aim of complete denture treatment should be restoration of the full range of oral functions and esthetics. Slumped cheeks are always a concern for esthetically demanding complete denture patients. This article describes a simple, scientific, cost-effective technique to improve facial esthetics in a completely edentulous patient with the help of a cheek plumper. The technique used here implements the concept of neutral zone to precisely determine the amount of space available for the cheek plumper. The simple friction lock attachments that retained the cheek plumpers on the prosthesis were also fabricated after determining the space available in the appropriate areas. Thus an effort was made to keep the cheek plumpers unobtrusive yet effective to ensure complete integration of the prosthesis into the stomatognathic system.
authors.affiliation: Department of Prosthodontics, Goa Dental College and Hospital, Bambolim, Goa, India.
authors.forename: Prem
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Bhushan
authors.affiliation: Department of Prosthodontics, Goa Dental College and Hospital, Bambolim, Goa, India.
authors.forename: Meena A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Aras
authors.affiliation: Department of Prosthodontics, Goa Dental College and Hospital, Bambolim, Goa, India.
authors.forename: Ivy
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Coutinho
authors.affiliation: Department of Prosthodontics, Goa Dental College and Hospital, Bambolim, Goa, India.
authors.forename: Praveen
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Rajagopal
authors.affiliation: Department of Prosthodontics, Goa Dental College and Hospital, Bambolim, Goa, India.
authors.forename: Ashwin R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Mysore
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral Medicine and Radiology, Manipal College of Dental Sciences, Manipal, India.
authors.forename: Swati
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kumar
mesh_terms: D002610:Cheek / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D003735:Dental Casting Technique; D003779:Denture Design / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods; D003781:Denture Retention / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D003824:Denture, Complete; D004955:Esthetics, Dental; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009066:Mouth, Edentulous / Q000534:rehabilitation*
keywords: Cheek plumper; denture esthetics; detachable attachment; friction lock attachments; slumped cheeks