Palatal obturator prosthesis

Management of the patient with congenital or acquired defect of palate is a new era in prosthodontics. Rehablitation with lighter obturator is a burning topic of research and practice as well. Depending on their origin, two groups for such defects can be congenital and acquired, which may result due to some injury or surgery. Such defects vary as far as etiology, location, and size are concerned. The size of the defect may vary from small to large, which may include parts of the hard and soft palate, alveolar bone, floor of the nasal cavity, maxillary sinus and may extend up to floor of the orbit and zygomatic complex. In general, such defects can be prosthodontically rehabilitated by prosthesis called obturator. The obturator is a disc or plate, natural or artificial, which closes an opening or defect of the maxilla as a result of a cleft palate or partial or total removal of maxilla for tumor mass. The obturator can be of different types and designs depending on the defect to be restored. This article reviews various aspects related to obturator prosthesis and elaborates the procedure of making an obturator as well.