Prosthetic Management of Head and Neck Defects

Maxillofacial prosthetics is a subspecialty of the dental specialty of prosthodontics. Following a dental education, a maxillofacial prosthodontist matriculates in a three-year prosthodontic residency before endeavoring in a one-year maxillofacial prosthetic fellowship. Though maxillofacial prosthodontists are primarily responsible for the habilitation of patients with oral and facial congenital defects and the rehabilitation of patients with acquired oral and facial deficits, they too lend assistance to radiation oncology and medical oncology patients. This chapter shall review the efforts a pair of maxillofacial prosthodontists make on behalf of radiation oncology patients in the hope of diminishing or preventing early and late effects of radiation. The chapter too will offer an overview of several types of intraoral and extraoral prostheses that are typically constructed for patients in their tertiary care maxillofacial prosthetic practices.