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Prof.Dr. Olcay Şakar graduated from İstanbul University, Faculty of Dentistry in 1987 and received a Dr.Med.Dent. degree in 1995 with the thesis entitled “The factors affecting successful esthetics in complete and removable partial dentures”. She was appointed in 2000 as Associate Professor and in 2007 as Professor in prosthodontics from the same university. She has more than 50 scientific articles published in national and international journals. She is editor and the author of the 8 chapters of the book entitled “ Removable Partial Dentures A Practitioners’ Manual”.
She is head of the Academy of Prosthodontics and Gnathology Society, and a member of the Turkish Prosthodontics and Implantology Association.
The role of the dentist in the diagnosis and treatment of patients with oromandibular dystonia
Oromandibular Dystonia (OMD) is a movement disorder characterized by sustained or repetitive, involuntary abnormal movements of the face, jaw and tongue. OMD, which can cause functional and psychosocial disability, can develop after dental treatment and is often misdiagnosed as a dental problem. Patients who see many physicians also present to the dentist with complaints such as jaw or facial pain, subluxations of the jaw, bruxism, broken teeth or restorations, jaw tremor. OMD is an important diagnosis that should not be missed by the dentist, as referral to specialist treatment can provide good results in the long term. Unfortunately, many clinicians are not aware of the disease, which can lead to delayed diagnosis, inappropriate treatment and complications. Therapy of OMD includes botulinum toxin injections, muscle afferent block, use of oral appliances, pharmacological, neurological, psychiatric and surgical treatments. The disease requires differential diagnosis with other movement disorders, such as Parkinson's disease, but also needs the dentist's differential diagnosis with temporomandibular disorders and bruxism. In some patients, various voluntary movements called "sensory tricks", for example placing an object between the teeth/lips, chewing gum, moving the tongue into certain positions, touching or pressing the jaw, cheek, lips, teeth, gums, etc., can alleviate or temporarily end the symptoms. Dentist-made “sensory trick splints” imitate this clinical feature of the disease and can improve patients' quality of life.