A prosthetic management technique for osteopetrosis affecting the maxilla.

Bony anatomical anomalies can complicate the construction and successful wearing of removable prostheses. Osteopetrosis is a group of diseases that affect the growth and continuous remodelling of bone which in turn can result in gross irregular alveolar bone morphology. This paper describes the management of a patient with this problem and emphasises the challenges in constructing a successful complete maxillary removable prosthesis. The utilisation of a flexible base plate material as an alternative to traditional materials will be highlighted. Irregular bony morphology is a recognised potential obstacle to the successful construction of removable prostheses. In most cases the problem can be overcome but in extreme and less common circumstances, management of these features can be more problematic. This paper describes a technique used to manage extreme alveolar irregularity which may perhaps be applied to those problems more commonly encountered in every day clinical practice but are less extreme then those described in this paper.