The 'combination syndrome' may present a considerable clinical and technical challenge to the dental practitioner. This clinical scenario classically relates to changes found in the mouth following use of a maxillary complete denture that has opposed natural mandibular anterior teeth. While this condition was first recognized over 30 years ago, the associated difficulties still pervade the practice of prosthetic dentistry today. The purpose of this article is to describe treatment of two patients who exhibited clinical features of this condition, and review some of the relevant literature on this condition.