Oral Rehabilitation for Compromised and Elderly Patients

Book excerpt: This book is designed to help dentists in general practice to improve the results of prosthetic procedures in medically compromised and elderly patients. In particular, it critically scrutinizes various dogmas that govern practitioners’ approaches yet lack sound scientific support and often have an adverse effect on outcomes. Attention is drawn to straightforward procedures that offer significant clinical benefits and to aspects that are too often neglected, such as the impact of systemic diseases. New light is cast, for example, on the taking of dental impressions, the treatment of malocclusions, the making of jaw relation records, the relationship between denture quality and patient satisfaction, and the use of implant-supported overdentures versus traditional complete prostheses (dentures). As Albert Einstein once said, "It is what we think we know that prevents us from learning more." Readers will find that this book helps them to re-examine taken-for-granted elements of their practice, leading to improved care and patient satisfaction.