Palatal lift prosthesis for bolus transport in a patient with dysphagia: A clinical report

Tomohisa Ohno; Norimasa Katagiri; Ichiro Fujishima

doi:10.1016/j.prosdent.2016.10.018

Palatal lift prosthesis for bolus transport in a patient with dysphagia: A clinical report

J Prosthet Dent. 2017 Aug;118(2):242-244. doi: 10.1016/j.prosdent.2016.10.018. Epub 2017 Jan 31.

Authors

Tomohisa Ohno¹, Norimasa Katagiri², Ichiro Fujishima³

Affiliations

¹ Dentist, Division of Oral and Dental Surgery, Department of Advanced Medicine, Japanese National Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology, Obu, Japan. Electronic address: tomohisa@ncgg.go.jp.
² Chief Director, Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Seirei Mikatahara General Hospital, Hamamatsu, Japan.
³ Hospital Director, Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Hamamatsu City Rehabilitation Hospital, Hamamatsu, Japan.

PMID: 28159343
DOI: 10.1016/j.prosdent.2016.10.018

Abstract

A palatal lift prosthesis (PLP) is an intraoral device that provides lift for the soft palate. The usual purpose of a PLP is to reduce nasopharyngeal reflux and the hypernasal speech caused by velopharyngeal incompetence. However, for this patient, the main purpose was to relieve a functional blockage at the oropharyngeal isthmus by suspending the soft palate. A PLP with soft and flexible lift was applied in a patient with a traumatic brain injury and dysphagia. The PLP improved oropharyngeal bolus transit time by relieving the blockage at the oropharyngeal isthmus. This type of PLP may help to improve bolus transport for patients with dysphagia.

Publication types

Case Reports

MeSH terms

Adult
Deglutition Disorders / therapy*
Food
Humans
Male
Palate, Soft*
Prostheses and Implants*