Prosthetic rehabilitation of mandibulectomy and glossectomy patients.

The prosthodontic prognosis in patients with lateral discontinuity defects of the mandible is dependent on a number of complex factors. In some patients only esthetics can be improved, whereas in others mastication and speech improvement can be achieved. Two patients who had undergone the same surgical interventions but presented with different problems are described. The first patient had difficulty with mastication and mandibular movements, which was resolved by building a ramp on a maxillary prosthesis. The second patient had severe speech and swallowing problems, which were corrected with an acrylic, hollow speech prosthesis. In both patients the end result was satisfactory.