AN INSIGHT OF MAXILLOFACIAL PROSTHESES

Maxillofacial prosthetics may be defined as the art and science of anatomic, functional, or reconstruction, by means of non-living substitutes, of those regions in the maxilla, mandible and face that are missing or defective because of surgical intervention, injury or congenital malformation.The loss of facial structures through ablative or traumatic activities may produce significant psychological trauma in the patient that exceeds the actual physical loss. Although surgical procedures may be able to fill in or close off large defects, their results may be less than optimal in providing acceptable level of function and aesthetics. An alternative is the prosthetic restoration of their facial defects.