[Multiple agenesis and prosthetic restoration]

Cases of multiple agenesia present some difficulties in the treatment planing. Three situations may be encountered: limited agenesia, restored by a fixed, bonded or cemented prosthesis, multiple uni- or bimaxillary agenesia without remaining of deciduous teeth, restored by a fixed, bonded or cemented prosthesis or the partial adjacent prosthesis, multiple uni- or bimaxillary agenesia with remaining of deciduous teeth, restored by means of a supra-dental prosthesis. The first two situations have been described in dental literature and are relatively easy to treat. The same is not true for the third situation, where the decision to keep the temporary teeth considerably increases the difficulty of prosthetic restoration. This subject will be illustrated by the presentation of a clinical case of multiple bi-maxillary agenesia. The patient has: on the maxilla: an absence of 9 permanent teeth (18, 15, 14, 12, 22, 23, 24, 25, 28) and the presence of 4 deciduous teeth (62, 63, 64, 65), on the mandible: an absence of all permanent teeth, with the exception of 36 and 46, and the remaining of 4 deciduous teeth (75, 73, 83, 84). The remaining of deciduous teeth and the presence of a very high inter-arch space led to opting for dental coverage so as to keep the deciduous teeth and a proper vertical dimension. The patient wished to solve his "problem" in the maxilla first, and is not wanting to undergo the extraction of his deciduous teeth. The following therapeutic proposal was adapted: On the maxilla, a three-step procedure: first step: building of metal copings on 13, 16 and 26 and metal-ceramic crowns on 11 and 21, second step: building of telescop crowns on 16 and 26 and clasps on 13, 11 and 21, third step: casting of the removable partial denture framework and soldering to the telescop crowns and clasps. On the mandible, a provisional restoration using a supra-dental resin removable partial denture with ceramic occlusal surfaces was adopted. The aesthetic and functional improvement, as well as the comfort provided to the patient due to this kind of mixed prosthesis, appeared to be satisfactory.