The evolution of the obturator framework design.

This brief overview of the progress and evolution of philosophies of obturator framework designs was accomplished by hand, as well as via Medline. It begins in 1530 ad with Ambrose Paré who described the first button-shaped sponge and metal obturator, and continues through the formation of the American Academy of Maxillofacial Prosthetics and the development of the specialty. It concludes with a simplified discussion of complex surgical-prosthetic coordination and the use of vascularized free flaps with osseointegrated dental implants.