Full mouth rehabilitation in patient with loss of vertical dimension and deep bite due to worn dentition

Gradual occlusal attrition is a normal process of aging. However, severe attrition causes pathogenic pulp, occlusal disharmony, functional disorder and esthetic problems. Alteration of vertical dimension should be considered for space regaining for tooth restoration, esthetic improvement or correction of occlusal relationship. Vertical dimension should be determined within the range of minimal invasive process satisfying patient's esthetic requirements and operator's functional goal. And patient's adaptation to newly determined vertical dimension should be assessed simultaneously. Deep overbite is not a simple problem of overbite, instead it is an usually complicated problem with anterior-posterior occlusal relationship. Considering these facts, appropriate restoration of edentulous part as well as improvement of anterior-posterior relationship should be performed to solve this fundamental problems. In this study, a 67 year-old male patient with many worn teeth and loss of posterior teeth was treated with removable partial denture at edentulous mandibular area to increase vertical dimension and fixed prostheses at dentulous maxillary and mandibular area. With these treatments, we attained a satisfactory result in functional and esthetic aspects as a report case. (J Korean Acad Prosthodont 2016;54:65-71)