Palatal defects in dogs and cats can present clinical and surgical challenges. These defects disrupt the separation between the oral and nasal cavities, resulting in feeding difficulties, recurrent respiratory infections, and malnutrition. Even though the first treatment choice is usually surgery, it is not always possible to surgically close large defects because of lack of available tissues. In these cases, the use of prosthetic devices may provide a reasonable therapeutic alternative. There are many different types of prostheses, that can be removable or not and made with different materials. We describe two cases treated with use of removable, resin-based palatal obturators. An 11 years old Domestic Shorthair cat was referred for a large acquired defect of the hard palate, measuring 1.8x2.5 cm. The cat developed a midline defect after falling from a height four years earlier. A surgical procedure was performed at the time, but dehiscence developed shortly afterward. After that, the cat was managed with a composite prosthetic plate that was sutured to the hard palate mucosa or drilled into the palatal bony shelves several times. With time, the defect significantly enlarged. After full mouth extraction, and based on orthodontic impressions and stone models of the maxilla and the mandible, a PMMA removable palatal obturator was created and placed in the patient’s mouth using an adhesive cream for prosthetic dentures, applied along its external margins. An 11 years old Jack Russel Terrier dog was referred for an acquired, asymmetrical, 2.5x1.3 cm palatal defect due to maxillary squamous cell carcinoma. Impressions of the maxilla and mandible were realized with the use of an intraoral digital scanner, and a resin palatal prosthesis was created and applied to the patient similarly to the previous case. In both cases, the prostheses would remain in place 24-72 hours, and then fall from the mouth of the patients as the adhesive cream dissolved. The owners, after washing and drying the plates, were able to replace them using the same adhesive cream. They could also decide to leave their pet without the obturator for a few hours, until they needed to eat and drink again. The devices were well tolerated by the patients, significantly decreasing their clinical signs associated to the presence of large palatal defects, and were also relatively easy to manage at home. Intraoral scanners create detailed images of the oral cavity, which can be used to fabricate the obturator with precision, and reduce the time needed for the realization of the prothesis and eliminates the need for orthodontic impression materials. Digital files from intraoral scans can also be easily stored and modified, making future adjustments and the creation of new replacement obturators very easy. In conclusion, the combination of removable palatal obturators and intraoral scanning technology offers a good treatment approach for inoperable, large palatal defects in dogs and cats. References

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