Dentists and Prosthodontics Annual Meeting

Severe tooth wear occurs with dental hard tissue destruction due to pathological reasons. Excessive occlusal wear can also cause loss of vertical dimension. In this case after a detailed examination the aim was to recreate the lost occlusal vertical dimension, and to restore the function and esthetics with fixed and removable restorations. Fifty-eight-year-old male patient referred to our clinic with a complaint of impaired esthetics and loss of masticory function. Some of his teeth underwent crown lengthening operation by means of endodontic treatment and prefabricated post along with incrementally built core restorations. Upper and lower classical partial removable prosthesis was fabricated with autopolymerizing acrylic resin material. The occlusion was set according to the canin protected design and followed-up for 2 months with 1-week-interval appointments for the fine re-adjustment of occlusal contacts. After the control of vertical dimension for 2 months final metal-ceramic restorations were fabricated. In the next step maxillary and mandibular removable prosthesis were fabricated and treatment was finished. No complications in our patient and the esthetic, functional and psychological outcomes were all positive 6 months after the end of the treatment. Severe dental wear is compromising for chewing, speaking and esthetic appearance of the dental patients and loss of vertical dimension challenges the treatment. A treatment approach has to be applied with care and patient satisfaction has been achieved in function and aesthetics.