Case Report
Dental Considerations in the Adjustment of Lost Occlusal Vertical Dimension: A Clinical Report
Rayan M Sharka1 and Hassan H Abed2*
1Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery and Diagnostic Sciences, Division of Removable Prosthodontics, School of Dentistry, Umm-Alqura University, Mecca city, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
2Department of Basic Oral and Clinical Sciences, Division of Oral Diagnostic Medicine, School of Dentistry, Umm-Alqura University, Mecca city, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
- *Corresponding Author:
- Hassan H Abed
School of Dentistry
Umm-Alqura University
Mecca city, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Tel: 0966598023157
E-mail: dr.hassanabed@yahoo.com
Received Date: April 04, 2014; Accepted Date: June 23, 2014; Published Date: June 28, 2014
Citation: Sharka RM, Abed HH (2014) Dental Considerations in the Adjustment of Lost Occlusal Vertical Dimension: A Clinical Report. J Oral Hyg Health 2:140. doi:10.4172/2332-0702.1000140
Copyright: © 2014 Sharka RM, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Abstract
The purpose of this clinical report is to discuss the clinical considerations related to increasing the occlusal vertical dimension (OVD) when restoring a patient’s dentition. Extra-oral and intraoral evaluations are mandatory to assess the suitability of increasing OVD. In the literature, multiple techniques have been proposed to quantify OVD loss. However, the techniques lack consistency and reliability, which in turn affects the decision of whether to increase the OVD. Therefore, increasing OVD should be determined on the basis of the dental restorative needs and aesthetic demands. In general, a minimal increase in OVD should be applied, through a 5 mm maximum increase in OVD can be justified to provide adequate occlusal space for the restorative material and to improve anterior teeth aesthetics. The literature reflects the safety of increasing the OVD permanently, and although signs and symptoms may develop, these are usually of an interim nature. The exception to this is for patients with Temporo-mandibular joint disorder (TMD), where increasing the OVD should still be achieved using removable appliances to control TMDassociated symptoms before considering any form of irreversible procedures.
