Oral prosthetics is the replacement of missing teeth (lost or congenitally absent) and
contiguous oral and maxillofacial tissues, with artificial substitute. Pre-prosthetic surgery is
carried out to reform and/or redesign the oral soft and hard tissues, by eliminating any
biological hindrances to receive comfortable and stable prosthesis, such as an implant or a
denture.
Pre-prosthetic surgery thus comprises of a wide range of procedures, some of which are
mentioned below:
- Alveoloplasty – Reshaping the residual alveolar ridge to remove any sharp spicules, or protuberances or undercuts.
- Tori excision - Exostoses/tori are generally bony protuberances, which may develop on either jaw. These may interfere with prosthetic rehabilitation or functions such as speech and mastication. A simple daycare surgery can remove these tori.
- Labial frenectomy – Removal of the labial frenum that can help correct midline spacing and a short upper lip.
- Lingual frenectomy – Removal of the lingual frenum that can help correct tongue-tie.
- Ridge augmentation procedures – Using bone grafts to augment the amount of bone available for prosthetic rehabilitation.
- Sinus lift procedures – When placing implants in the posterior region of the upper jaw, the floor of the maxillary sinus may limit the height of the available bone. Sinus lift procedures help overcome this hindrance by safely shifting the sinus membrane to a higher level and allowing the placement of bone grafts in the newly created space.
