Preventive management of a chronic microtraumatic factor in an adolescent patient using an occlusal splint for mucosal protection; a case report

Abstract

The development of cancer involves three stages: initiation, promotion, and progression. These consecutive stages are referred to as the process of carcinogenesis. The role of dentists in this process in relation to oral cancer is to intervene in the promotion stage, focusing on prevention by both eliminating and not causing chronic microtraumatic factors. This article is a clinical case report of a 14-year-old male patient seen at Hospital de Odontología Infantil Don Benito Quinquela Martín, who underwent a clinical functional stomatological examination. He was observed to have geographic and fissured tongue, with severe indentations on the edges, resulting from a chronic microtraumatic factor, due to the presence of an unfavorable dental arch. If this factor is not controlled or eliminated, it could cause ulceration due to chronic trauma, which is a potentially precancerous lesion. Objective: to describe the clinical condition of a 14-year-old male patient who is fitted with an occlusal splint for mucosal protection in order to prevent potentially precancerous diseases, such as ulceration due to chronic trauma, caused by the chronic microtraumatic factor present. Conclusion: by using an occlusal splint for mucosal protection as part of the treatment plan, future lesions that would compromise the patient's general health may be prevented.