Dr Sonia Joseph’s Opinion
DentalReach webinar series has been a refreshing change in the usual trend of webinars. Post-pandemic, there have been tons of lecture series that are available across different platforms, although a lot of them unfortunately tend to barely touch base on the topic that is to be covered, perhaps owing to the time constraints most of them have, or the lack of a long interactive Q n A session. However, the webinars conducted by DentalReach managed to fulfill a lot in the limited window that was permitted.
Dr. Deepa Ravichandran ma’am, mentor of the first DR Clinical Series, covered a series of topics in Prosthodontics that ranged from rehabilitation to prevention. Her enthusiasm and willingness to share her knowledge truly enhanced the experience of attending the webinar. Each topic covered was comprehensively explained and added significantly to my own existing knowledge about the subject.
Considering how each topic in Prosthodontics can be so vast, Dr. Deepa gave us a clear and realistic approach to common clinical issues and how to troubleshoot them. The lectures helped in dealing with clinical problems we face on a day to day basis.
10 ways of decoding full mouth rehabs
I have the following 10 takeaways if I were to sum up the lecture on full mouth rehabilitation (FMR) in a few points:-
1) Each case is specific to its own and has to be dealt with accordingly. Not every bite needs to be raised/restored and not every tooth needs a crown just because it’s a full mouth rehabilitation case.
2) Composites can be used as a method to raise/restore the bite and can also act as provisionals.
3) The entire dentition – and occlusion – needs to be taken under consideration even if the treatment involves only a single quadrant of the arch.
4) Conservative treatment does not always mean saving the tooth. Sometimes you have to skip the veneers and choose crowns in order to facilitate a long lasting prognosis.
5) Planning precedes execution. A lot can be achieved with CAD CAM in the planning stage, thus saving a lot of time in making corrections once the prostheses have been already fabricated.
6) Occlusion is dynamic and it will keep changing in minor ways. Regular follow ups are necessary to ensure the prosthesis retains its original state.
7) Patient and lab communication is extremely important. Patient education goes a long way in ensuring they get the treatment they should be getting, not the treatment they want to get. Precise communication with the lab is crucial in achieving exactly what we had planned. Inadequate communication with your lab may lead to poor execution.
8) Curve of Spee needs to be restored in order to ensure the occlusion and prosthesis is maintained in its sound state. Porcelain chipping off is a common issue that can be resolved if the occlusion is corrected by restoring the curve.
9) Aim to restore esthetics along with function. Even if the patient’s chief complaint is about esthetics, the rehabilitation should always be in harmony with function.
10) Realistic approach to full mouth cases. Not every full mouth case has to alter each tooth in the dentition. It may not look good on social media, but we should choose to rehabilitate with an approach that is conducive to maximum impact with minimal alterations.
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