TARDIVE-DYSKINESIA - DENTAL PROSTHETIC THERAPY

The object of this study was to demonstrate that the dental prosthetic therapy that has long been shown to be effective in the treatment of idiopathic or Spontaneous Orofacial Dyskinesia (SOFD) was also effecti ve in the treatment of the orofacial manifestations of Tardive Dyskine sia (TD), This preliminary work consisted of evaluation of the results of dental prosthetic treatment provided to TD patients at the Univers ity of illinois, College of Dentistry at Chicago. All patients who pre sented demonstrating orofacial manifestations of TD were accepted for treatment. No standard dental appliance exists to treat either SOFD or TD, Each case requires an individualized approach. Natural teeth shou ld be maintained because the more natural teeth present, the easier it is to fabricate a stable and effective prosthesis, and TD occurs with greater frequency and severity in edentulous than in dentulous patien ts. Effective treatment of such patients requires the dentist to be fl exible and tailor his therapy to idiosyncrasies of each case, rather t han being wedded to rigid theories of what is supposed to be appropria te treatment and appliance design. Two representative cases of treatme nt of TD with dental prostheses are presented. Prosthetic dental thera py should be considered in the management of the orofacial manifestati ons of Tardive Dyskinesia because it often is effective and has no kno wn side effects. Since the treatment described here is prosthetic, any team approach to the treatment of TD should include an interested gen eral dentist or prosthodontist.