Sweet Solution: Caramelized Sugar Spacer for Hollow Maxillary Complete Denture

The success of removable dental prostheses, specifically removable complete dentures, depends on five key factors: retention, support, stability, esthetics, and preservation of the remaining structures. Among these, retention, stability, and support play a pivotal role in determining the overall success of the complete denture. The fabrication of a removable complete denture in conventional situations requires a stepwise approach. Residual Ridge Resorption refers to the gradual loss of quantity and quality of the residual ridge, following tooth extraction. Over time, due to the multifactorial etiology of residual ridge resorption, a conventional situation may transform into an unconventional one. Managing such critical cases, where the patient has completely edentulous, resorbed residual ridges, is a significant challenge in prosthodontics. In these cases, achieving the fundamental principles of retention, stability, and support depends largely on the skill and expertise of the prosthodontist. Residual ridge resorption may also lead to an increase in the inter-ridge distance. Other complex situations include edentulous patients with increased lip length or those with large maxillofacial defects. In such cases, the height and, consequently, the weight of the removable dental prosthesis may increase, potentially compromising its retention, stability, and support. To address these challenges, a wide range of materials, methods, and techniques have been proposed in the literature to minimize the weight of the prosthesis while maintaining its functional efficiency. This case report presents the lost sugar technique for the successful fabrication of a lightweight, hollow maxillary complete denture. The method utilizes sugar cubes stabilized with caramelized sugar as a 3D spacer.