Use of a mouth stick appliance to rehabilitate a quadriplegic patient

Abstract

This article describes a clinical case report of a young male with a clinical condition of quadriplegia. The patient was functionally handicapped as his arms and hands were underdeveloped, weak and completely disfigured. The article describes the clinical and laboratory procedure of fabricating a simple and inexpensive device which will use the patient’s dentition to perform daily work. The requirements of such a mouthstick appliance have been mentioned and the necessary care that has to be taken during design of such an appliance has been outlined. The patient was highly satisfied with the result and was able to improve his lifestyle by writing, painting and even type with the appliance. The patient’s confidence and social acceptance grew tremendously after using the mouthstick appliance.