CURRICULUM VITAE

• Professor and Chairman of Prosthodontics Dept.
• Faculty of Oral and Dental Medicine, Future University, Cairo- Egypt
• The use of craniofacial implant-anchored auricular prosthesis for the rehabilitation of microtia or congenitally missing ear often results in superior cosmetic results with a lesser number of surgical procedures. This prosthesis are usually attached to the implants via precision attachments. Despite the high success rates of implant-anchored auricular prosthesis, however, there are several inherent deficiencies within this approach. One amongst which is the loss of retention due to wear of the retaining mechanism of these attachments that require replacement over time. One patient among series of patients, who were rehabilited with bone- anchored auricular prosthesis in the last years, lost his attachment. The manufacturer of this particular attachment has stopped this line of production several years ago. In order to provide the patients with new customized attachments, the author adopted new digital technology work flow in fabrication of these attachments. Two challenges in fabrication of this digital attachment were faced. The first is the design of virtual attachment created by Computer-Aided Design (CAD) that conform to the actual geometry of the ball abutment of the craniofacial implants and still provide acceptable retention of the prosthesis. The second was How to use the available current Computer-Aided Manufacturing (CAM) techniques for fabrication the attachment with suitable 3D printing material. The retentive outcome of this novel digitally designed attachment was satisfactory and the patient acknowledged the improvements in his ear prosthesis. In addition, an in vitro study was conducted; the retention was measured and evaluated. The results confirmed its superior retentive qualities.