To maintain a harmonious craniofacial system, the dental practitioner must establish an appropriate occlusal vertical dimension (OVD). Several methods can be used to determine an appropriate OVD. The patient presenting with decreased OVD represents a particular challenge for the dental practitioner in fabricating conventional dentures. This clinical report describes the use of a diagnostic treatment prosthesis to evaluate the patient's ability to manage such an increase in vertical dimension and to reestablish an appropriate occlusal vertical dimension. The use of a diagnostic treatment prosthesis at a vertical dimension 5 mm greater than what the patient presented with was determined to not cause discomfort over a 2-month period. A conventional complete denture was fabricated based on the patient's ability to handle the increase during the trial period. This report reviews the literature on this topic and describes a clinical technique for reestablishing the OVD in edentulous patients.
Copyright by The American College of Prosthodontists.