Dental rehabilitation in patients following burn contractures - a case report

Violence against women (VAW) both inside & outside their home has been a crucial issue in contemporary Indian society. It results in gruesome dentofacial deformities which have an adverse effect on individuals' self-esteem and self-confidence and evoke an undesirable social response. The area of body which maximally determines physical attractiveness is the face; it is also the primary means of identification, expression, & non-verbal communication. Thus, as a dental surgeon it is our priority to relieve the patient's psyche trauma by increasing their mental strength and to make the patient socially acceptable. Long standing burn contractures involving the face and neck often result in restricted mouth opening and narrowed nasal passages, resulting in narrowed airways and poor oral hygiene. Such patients often show malalignment of the teeth with restricted movement of oral structures, resulting in the patient being malnourished, anemic, and hypoproteinemic. Efforts for reconstruction should be directed not only at restoring satisfactory aesthetics, but also the functional needs of the patient. Best results may be obtained by a team approach to the problem. Hence, an attempt has been made here to present the management of these complex patients using a surgical approach. Keywords: burn contracture, skeletal class three, dentofacial deformity, orthognathic surgery, plastic surgery, scar, orthodontic treatment