Authors: Seema Pattanaik, Anagha Sundar Kakapoyil, Bikah K Pattanaik
Palatal defect causes multiple problems in deglutition, mastication, speech, esthetics and maintenance of oral hygiene. An obturator is a maxilofacial prosthesis used to close congenital or acquired tissue opening, primarily of the hard palate. The fabrication of hollow obturators has been done by various methods in the past. Disadvantagesof these methods are time consuming, operator error, variable thickness of the hollow bulb, increased laboratory work. In this article, a new method for fabrication of two-piece hollow bulb obturator is described which amalgamates the recent 3D printing technique and the conventional compression moulding technique of denture fabrication. The advantage of this technique is uniform thickness, the precise fit, and stability of two piece the hollow obturator. It can be an alternative method in case of inaccessibility of printable denture material. Keywords: Two piece hollow obturator, One piece hollow obturator, Maxillectomy defect, Obturator, Rapid prototyping.
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