What is it about?
Facial expression is how we present ourselves and how others identify our emotions. A patient with facial paralysis is deprived of certain emotions, and as facial mobility begins to return, these emotions begin to resurface. We see improvement through this work.
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Photo by Ehimetalor Akhere Unuabona on Unsplash
Why is it important?
Facial expression is how we present ourselves to the world and how others perceive our emotions. Voluntary movement and tone of the mouth muscles are extremely important. Patients suffering from disfiguring facial paralysis require care, attention and understanding, as well as clinical and surgical treatments; they also have difficulty eating, expressing themselves naturally and do not recognize their image in the mirror. According to Charles Bell in his posthumous memoirs, a patient with facial paralysis is deprived of certain emotions and, as he begins to reestablish his facial mobility, these emotions begin to resurface. This report shows how facial harmonization, through already known processes, with prostheses on implants, can change the physiognomy of these patients; and when associated with tooth loss, the paralysis becomes more pronounced. This report refers to serious problems that can be solved with known rehabilitations. It also demonstrates, through surface electromyography, the positive response of some apparently silent muscles to the installation of prostheses.
Perspectives
Through this study, we emphasize the importance of multidisciplinary work. The doctor is the first contact the patient has after the loss of facial movement, when it is the result of surgery. The importance of oral health, in terms of both aesthetic and functional rehabilitation, is very important. Facial functions were affected by paralysis, but oral functions must be evaluated and restored. Through this report, we also realize that effective chewing, through oral health, the absence of cavities and periodontal disease, in addition to the recovery of edentulous spaces, through prostheses, help in recovery, mainly involving self-care and reintegration into society with a recovery, even if incomplete, of facial harmony. This work requires a lot of attention, which goes beyond corrective surgeries.
Doctor Rosana Queiroz
Universidade Federal de Sao Paulo
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: The impact of occlusal plane rehabilitation on the face of a patient with traumatic peripheral facial paralysis by Timpanic jugular tumor – case report, Jaw Functional Orthopedics and Craniofacial Growth, April 2024, JVE International Ltd.,
DOI: 10.21595/jfocg.2024.23727.
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