Some people have gaps where teeth are missing, others have parts
of their face/mouth structures missing because of trauma, disease
or treatment. These facial or dental defects can be distressing
because they affect the person's appearance or how well they can
eat, speak, smile etc.
These gaps used to be routinely treated by removable appliances
that used the remaining teeth or spectacles as attachments. More
recently, special titanium implants have been developed that can
be inserted (implanted) into the facial bone or jaws. These can
support artificial teeth and/or can act as stable support for
facial prostheses (eg ones including
prosthetic ears, eyes, noses).
Addenbrooke's has full facilities for the planning and construction
of these prostheses, which are made by our specialist
maxillofacial technicians.
