OBTU, SAY WHAT?

OBTU, SAY WHAT?


Before working in the dental lab, I had never given much thought to a palatal obturator. 
Before working with Dr. Amit Paryag, I had never seen a restorative dentist with such fire and keenness toward patient and product perfection - "patient centered care", as he refers to it. 
When the two rolled in to one for us at Drake, something momentous was born. 




DID YOU KNOW?
In 1560 Lusitanus was probably the first to describe what is today known as palatal obturator used for permanent luetic fistula of the palate (). In 1564 Ambroise Parè called his small obturators “couvercles”, and in 1575 changed the name to “obturateur" which is derived from the Latin “obturo” meaning to stop up. In 1634, Johson translated Parè’s “surgery”, published for king Henri the third. The text described an appliance to restore the palatal defect caused by venereal diseases and gunshot wounds. In order to create his obturators, Parè filled the cavities with a gold or silver plate a little bigger than the cavity. Since surgical correction of the palate defect offered difficulties for centuries, in fact the surgeons of the middle aged avoided surgery of the palate, prosthetic aids of the renaissance deserved praise and were used for about 200 years.  (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4402688/)

No doubt, today's Oral Facial Rehabilitation methods have improved significantly. But have periodontal diseases, cancers, and congenital defects climbed as well? If so, I can only imagine where obturateur and rehabilitation dentistry could be 10 years from know. We already have the ability for extremely accurate design fits due to our ability to DIGITALLY design and mill frameworks right here in our lab.  

CHECK OUT THESE SUCCESS PICTURES

Duracetal resin-based appliances - Collaborated by Drake Precision Dental Lab and Dr. Amit Paryag, University of the West Indies, School of Dentistry, St. Augustine, Trinidad & Tobago.


 Rehabilitation of resection defects caused by management of ameloblastoma
(See Dr. Paryag's research, and case planning here!)

Those who work in dentistry every day may become desensitized to it every now and then. And those unfamiliar with it's capabilities may be unaware of the full wingspan.  But when images like these are your success stories, I think we can all take a second to agree that dentistry is listlessly incredible for all that it can do. 
And from the obturators in 1560 'till now, I can't wait to see what the future of dental medicine holds!



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

What can Carbon do for You?

Image
Dentsply Sirona and Carbon® launch Lucitone Digital Print Denture workflow and material system, taking digital dentistry to the next level. Fabricated at Drake Dental Lab! What can Carbon do for you? Reduced chair time. Increased bond strength. More accurate fit. Follow this link to watch one of these cutting-edge digital dentures being made! Want to know the best part? Your impressions can be sent in conventionally!  The "digital" workflow is left up to the lab.  The reduced chair time is due to the convenient workflow and in-house model printing! Carbon's mission is to reproduce how polymer products are designed and delivered in order to use them in a digital and sustainable future.  They expand to fields other than dentistry, and have done incredible things.  Check out this custom  3D printed orthopedic shoe !  Want to Rx one? Call any of our Technical Specialists at 1.800.476.2771 - we'll be happy to talk with you about t
Read more

Polishing and Adjusting Valplast Chairside

Image
We recently sent out an E-Blast to address one of the FAQ we get at the lab: "How do we adjust and polish Valplast partials chairside?" It was a hit! Sign up with  AEGIS DENTAL NETWORK  to get our weekly reads! Here's the email: Here's the video: Do you do any of it differently? Want to know where to get the kit?  Contact us  As always, thanks for stopping by! - Drake Precision Dental Laboratories
Read more

Plan your Smile with Diagnostic Wax Ups by Drake Dental Laboratory

Image
YOU SHOULD WAX! Diagnostic Wax Ups are a great way to treatment plan full mouth, full arch, or several unit spans for you and your patient.  Before the commitment is made, why not have a visual aide?   The wax up can be canted, lengthened, changed, and discussed until it is clinically and aesthetically ready to be made into a permanent restoration. The Wax Ups serve as a blueprint, and a patient-dentist-lab communication - all of this provides confidence and assurance in the final investment. One of our talented technicians let us video his process. Not only do we get a sneak peek at his talent, be we get to see the before model and the  after mock-up!
Read more