Losing part of your face to cancer surgery, trauma, or a congenital condition changes how you see yourself and how the world sees you. Facial prosthetic rehabilitation restores the ear, eye, nose, or other facial structures that surgery or disease has removed — using silicone prostheses custom-fabricated to match your skin tone, shape, and anatomy. At Ocean Breeze Prosthodontics in Boynton Beach, Dr. Nicholas Goetz designs and delivers facial prostheses as a fellowship-trained maxillofacial prosthodontist, one of approximately 150 in the United States with this credential.
Most dentists who place veneers are trained in general cosmetic dentistry. Dr. Goetz is trained as a maxillofacial prosthodontist — a specialty that focuses on the restoration of teeth, bite, and facial structure together. That distinction matters when placing veneers because a shell bonded to your front teeth will interact with how your bite closes, how your jaw moves, and how surrounding restorations are loaded over time. Getting those relationships wrong leads to premature chipping, bite sensitivity, or restorations that don’t hold up as expected.
Every veneer case at Ocean Breeze begins with a complete digital smile design preview, so you can see your projected results before any preparation begins. Our full range of cosmetic dentistry services is available to Boynton Beach patients throughout Palm Beach County.
Facial prosthetic rehabilitation uses custom-fabricated silicone or acrylic prostheses to restore facial structures that have been lost due to cancer surgery, trauma, or congenital absence. The goal is functional and aesthetic restoration — returning appearance as close as possible to the pre-surgical or pre-condition state while providing a prosthesis that is comfortable to wear and manageable to maintain. According to the National Cancer Institute, head and neck surgery can significantly alter facial appearance, and prosthetic rehabilitation is a recognized component of cancer survivorship care. At Ocean Breeze, Dr. Goetz evaluates the extent of the defect, the patient’s medical history, and the available retention options before designing any prosthetic solution.
Veneers are well-suited for correcting a wide range of cosmetic concerns, including tooth discoloration that doesn’t respond to whitening, chips or cracks affecting the front teeth, minor gaps between teeth, teeth that appear uneven in length or shape, and worn enamel that has changed the look of your smile. According to the American Dental Association, candidates should have good underlying gum health and sufficient enamel before placement — Dr. Goetz evaluates both before recommending any veneer treatment.
Every facial prosthesis at Ocean Breeze is custom-fabricated for the individual patient — there are no off-the-shelf solutions. The process combines clinical measurement, digital imaging, and artisan-level fabrication to produce a result that integrates naturally with the surrounding anatomy.
The ear is among the most complex anatomical structures to replicate. Auricular prostheses are fabricated in medical-grade silicone, color-matched to the surrounding skin, and retained either with medical adhesive or implant-retained anchors. Candidates include patients who have undergone surgical removal of the ear due to cancer, those born with microtia or anotia, and individuals who have experienced traumatic ear loss. Implant-retained auricular prostheses offer more secure retention and longer prosthetic lifespan than adhesive-retained alternatives. Dr. Goetz evaluates the available bone, skin condition, and patient lifestyle before recommending the appropriate retention method.
Partial or total nasal reconstruction is one of the most visible and emotionally significant aspects of facial rehabilitation. Nasal prostheses are custom-fabricated in intrinsic and extrinsic-tinted silicone to replicate skin texture, color variation, and the three-dimensional contour of the nose. Retention is typically achieved with medical adhesive or osseointegrated implants placed in the nasal bones. The prosthesis is designed to align with remaining nasal anatomy and blend seamlessly at the margins, minimizing visible edges under normal social conditions.
Orbital prostheses restore the appearance of the eye socket following enucleation or exenteration — the surgical removal of the eye or orbit. These prostheses require exceptional artistry: the iris color, sclera tone, and vascular patterning are all individually painted to match the contralateral eye. An orbital prosthesis may be combined with an eyelid and eyebrow restoration to create a natural appearance at conversational distance. Retention can be adhesive or implant-supported depending on the extent of the exenteration and available bone.
Some patients require rehabilitation of multiple facial structures simultaneously — for example, following extensive head and neck cancer surgery that removes the eye, orbital rim, and adjacent maxillary bone together. In these cases, Dr. Goetz coordinates the fabrication of a combined prosthesis that addresses multiple zones in a single integrated unit, or sequences individual prostheses in stages that correspond to the patient’s surgical and radiation recovery timeline. This coordinated approach minimizes the number of fitting appointments and ensures each component of the rehabilitation plan is designed to work alongside the others.
Facial prosthetic rehabilitation requires a clinician trained in both the medical complexity of post-surgical anatomy and the artistic demands of matching living tissue. Dr. Nicholas Goetz completed his Maxillofacial Prosthodontics Fellowship at UCLA, where training in extraoral prosthetics — ears, eyes, noses, and combined facial prostheses — is a core component of the curriculum.
Dr. Goetz holds a DMD and MS from the University of Florida, where he completed his Prosthodontic Residency. He is one of approximately 150 board-certified maxillofacial prosthodontists in the United States, with clinical experience serving complex rehabilitation cases at U.S. Army and VA Medical Hospital settings. For patients in Boynton Beach facing facial reconstruction, that background means the prosthesis is designed by someone who has trained specifically for this work, not adapted their general practice to accommodate it.
We believe financial concerns shouldn’t keep you from treatment that can change your daily life. Ocean Breeze Prosthodontics offers flexible financing options so the path to a complete smile feels manageable from the very first visit.
While we are not in-network with insurance companies, we’ll still help you get the most out of your plan. We file claims on your behalf and assist you in securing any reimbursement your PPO plan allows.
As soon as possible after your diagnosis or surgery has been discussed with your care team. Early involvement allows Dr. Goetz to plan the prosthesis alongside the surgical approach, which often results in a better-fitting and more natural-looking outcome. Facial prostheses can be fabricated in the interim period before full healing is complete, and updated as the tissue matures. You do not need to wait until you feel “ready” — a consultation is simply a conversation about your options.
With proper daily care — gentle cleaning, careful removal and reseating, and protection from excessive heat and direct sunlight — a silicone facial prosthesis typically lasts 1 to 3 years before the pigmentation begins to fade or the silicone degrades noticeably. Implant-retained prostheses generally last longer than adhesive-retained ones because the silicone is not exposed to daily adhesive application and removal. Dr. Goetz schedules regular follow-up appointments to monitor prosthesis condition and plan replacement before degradation becomes visible.
The two primary retention options are medical-grade silicone adhesive and osseointegrated implants. Adhesive-retained prostheses require no surgery and are appropriate for most patients, but must be removed and reapplied daily. Implant-retained prostheses use titanium fixtures placed in the bone adjacent to the defect site and offer more secure, stable retention without daily adhesive. Dr. Goetz evaluates available bone volume, skin condition, and patient lifestyle before recommending a retention method.
Yes. Facial prostheses for patients following cancer treatment are often covered under medical insurance, as they arise from medically necessary surgery. It is worth submitting to both your dental and medical plans. Ocean Breeze Prosthodontics is a fee-for-service practice and participates as an out-of-network provider with PPO plans — our team files claims on your behalf. Flexible financing options are also available.
Yes. For patients who need both oral and facial rehabilitation — for example, an obturator to close a palatal defect and an auricular prosthesis following ear removal — Dr. Goetz coordinates both tracks of treatment at Ocean Breeze. Having the same specialist managing oral and facial rehabilitation minimizes coordination gaps and ensures each prosthesis is designed with awareness of the others.
Dr. Goetz is one of approximately 150 board-certified maxillofacial prosthodontists in the United States — a specialist whose training at UCLA specifically included extraoral prosthetics for patients affected by cancer, trauma, and congenital conditions. Patients come to Ocean Breeze Prosthodontics from throughout Palm Beach County and surrounding communities for this level of facial rehabilitation care.
Schedule your consultation at our Boynton Beach office today, or call (561) 265-1998 to speak with our team.
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