Bridging the Gap Between Immediate Surgical and Definitive Oral Rehabilitation With Interim Obturators: A Case Report

Maxillectomy can result in various functional deficits for the patient, such as hypernasal speech, difficulty in deglutition, fistula formation, and loss of support for cheeks and lips. Surgical reconstruction might be the ideal treatment for rehabilitation of maxillectomy defects, but it is seldom done, particularly if the defect is significant and the tissues are exposed to radiotherapy. Since a definite obturator is deferred till complete healing of the surgical site has occurred, an interim obturator helps in achieving normalcy. Apart from restoring the functions of speech and deglutition, the interim obturator has a great psychological benefit to the patient in regaining social acceptance. In this case report, we describe how our patients benefitted from an interdisciplinary team approach with the help of interim obturators till the surgical site attained stability for the fabrication of definite obturators, thereby improving their overall quality of life.