Objectives: The primary aim of this work was to determine the duration of ultra-low-frequency transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (ULF-TENS) application necessary to achieve sufficient relaxation of the masticatory muscles. A secondary aim was to analyze the influence of stimulation on muscle relaxation in pathological subjects and determine whether ULF-TENS has a noteworthy impact on muscle relaxation. Methods: Sixteen adult subjects with temporomandibular disorders (TMD) and muscle pain and a group of four control subjects were included in this study. ULF-TENS was applied, and muscular activities of the masseter, temporal, and sternocleidomastoid muscles (SCM) were recorded for 60 min. Results: Significant relaxation was achieved in the TMD group from 20, 40, and 60 min for the temporal, masseter, and SCM muscles (p < 0.05), respectively. Maximum relaxation was achieved in 12.5% of the subjects after 20 min, in a further 12.5% after 40 min, and in the remaining 75% after 60 min. Significant relaxation was achieved in the control group from 20 to 40 min for the masseter and temporal muscles, respectively (p < 0.05). Discussion: Taken together, the results suggest that an ideal ULF-TENS application would last 40 min to obtain sufficient muscle relaxation both in patients with masticatory system disorders and healthy subjects, a time constraint that is consistent with everyday clinical practice.

Introduction. The objective of this study was to establish a baseline of current use in practice of the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure (COPM) by consulting 33 expert French occupational therapists, who trained in this method between 2012 and 2017 and use of the COPM with their clients. The areas of health intervention are pediatrics, psychiatry, neurology, and geriatrics. An email invitation to participate in the research was therefore sent to 113 occupational therapists. We received 33 responses. Methods. A novel mixed method study combined a Delphi method with a lexical analysis of experts responses and principal component analysis (PCA). Results. In the last Delphi round, the consensus of the expert group was attained on 31 benefits and 1 limitation, confirming the generally positive influence of the COPM in French health services. Discussion. The COPM was clearly identified as a tool that supports occupational therapy clinical reasoning, facilitates team decision-making for care pathways, and enables people with disabilities and health conditions to make decisions for their care. Conclusion. The Delphi study revealed that the COPM appears to be well adapted to French culture and should be widely incorporated into preregistration training.

The reconstruction of cephalic defect and more precisely from the face is not a recent issue. Indeed, the use of facial masks in a symbolic perspective was reported in ancient Egypt. Few references to facial prostheses are then found. It is really only with the work of the French surgeon Ambroise Paré that the first surgical techniques concerning facial epithetics are described. Techniques and materials tend to evolve over the centuries. But then came WWI, which marked a major turning point and brought to light the broken faces and the impact of maxillofacial trauma. Rehabilitation became a major issue in society. The war was a driving force for change from both a surgical and prosthetic point of view, revealing in particular such brilliant designers as the American sculptor Anna Coleman Ladd. Today, the profession is undergoing a major upheaval, linked to the growing development of biotechnological constructions. This historical review aims to retrace the evolution of the rehabilitation of facial substance loss over the ages and to outline the prospects for the foreseeable future. (Int J Maxillofac Prosthetics 2021;4:2-8)

Florent Destruhaut, DDS, PhD/Philippe Pomar, DDS, PhD/ R?mi Esclassan, DDS, PhD/Christophe Rignon-Bret, DDS, PhD: Oral rehabilitation of adult patients with cleft lip and palate is related to the severity of the anatomical and functional alterations that hamper the proper closure of the nasopharynx. The ideal treatment is closure by bone graft and orthodontics. However, when surgery is not possible or when the patient does not wish to undergo surgery, a palatal prosthesis may offer the best solution in most clinical situations. The authors of this article propose a new classification to help the practitioner with decision making and prosthetic treatment planning for residual palatoalveolar cleft defects.

Maxillofacial prostheses now benefit from the growing advances in converging technologies, such as nanotechnologies, biotechnologies, informatics and cognitivism (NBIC). Instead of being laid and passive, prostheses can now ensure true neurophysiological interactions with their wearers through complex phenomena of hybridization and vicariance. These new devices get closer to “maxillofacial amplification prosthesesâ€, by improving the world perception through restored sensory properties and new extra-sensory properties. These technological devices also benefit from the bioengineering revolution that will soon allow the bioprinting of graft prostheses with an intimate integration to the organic maxillofacial support. In this article, the authors would like to present some major advances in cyborgology and bio-printing in maxillofacial hybridization contexts. (Int J Maxillofac Prosthetics 2019;1:20-26)