Face transplantation: general review and long-term management of the dental patient

Facial allotransplantation (FA) is an emerging alternative modality following severe loss of hard and soft tissues. Although there are vast numbers of publications on the surgical aspects of this technique, limited information is available in the literature with regard to the long-term dental care of affected patients following postoperative stabilization and return to their locally based clinical milieu. The objective of this report is to review patient demographics, etiologies, structural graft components, immunosuppressive strategies, donor tissue pathogenicity, neurologic recovery, potential complications, and present clinical guidelines for dental management. Additionally, a brief discussion of the preparation of the donor mask, and cutaneous and intraoral images of allograft rejection have been provided. Keywords: complications, dental, face transplantation, management, oral and maxillofacial, rejection, surgery