DLBT 3606 Specialized Somatic, Therapeutic, and Interdisciplinary Appliances

This advanced course focuses on the design, engineering, and fabrication of highly specialized dental appliances used in oncology, sleep medicine, pediatrics, and custom stomal care. Students will master the laboratory procedures required to construct radiation shielding and tissue-compensating bolus devices, airway-repositioning sleep apnea splints, custom stomal plugs, and obturators for pediatric and adult cleft palates. Emphasis is placed on interpreting prescriptions from multi-disciplinary medical teams (oncologists, pulmonologists, and oral-maxillofacial surgeons) to deliver biologically safe devices that actively manage therapeutic outcomes and protect compromised tissue structures.