Background: Edentulism is a sequel of tooth loss which leads to impairment of normal function, comfort, aesthetics and speech. It also leads to various undesirable consequences like occlusal discrepancies, migration and spacing of surrounding teeth, supra eruption, loss of space, temporomandibular disorders and other unwanted changes. Little is known about the prevalence of patterns of edentulism in Nepal. Objectives: To assess the prevalence of Kennedy’s classification on partially edentulous patients. Methodology: A prospective cross-sectional study was carried out among 300 patients within the age of 18-80 years visiting the Department of Oral Medicine and Radiology, College of Dental Science and Hospital -Nepal Medical College  with at least one missing tooth from Jan 2018-March 2018. Results: Out of 300 patients enrolled, a majority were female (178; 59.3%). The patients mostly affected by partially edentulous condition were among the age group of 51 to 60 years (78; 26%). The distribution of partially edentulous areas were similar in maxillary (80; 26%) and mandibular (85; 28.3%) arches and 45% of the patients (n=135) had one or more missing tooth/teeth on both arches. Kennedy’s class III was found in more than 31% of the patients (n=94) in the maxillary arch and 30% (n=91) in the mandibular arch. Likewise, Kennedy’s class III with modification 1 was seen in 21% (n=62) cases in the maxillary and 24% (n=72) cases in the mandibular arch. Conclusion: Kennedy’s class III and Kennedy’s class III with modification 1 were the most common type of pattern of partially edentulous area on both arches.

Maxillary defects resulting from ablative oncologic surgery can be extensive and usually have complex contours. Impression procedures for such defects can be time consuming and cumbersome, challenging the skills of even the most-experienced clinician. A well-oriented impression tray with proper extension and adequate contour is essential for successfully capturing the relevant details in impression. This article describes a method using the patient's existing obturator prosthesis to simplify and expedite the fabrication of a lightweight individualized impression tray directly on an irreversible hydrocolloid impression, thus avoiding the preliminary impression procedure for the patient.

Background: Impression making is one of the critical factors in determining success or failure of complete denture therapy. The precise reproduction of edentulous foundation is essential for retention, stability, and support of the removable prosthesis. Evidence suggests that there is variability in materials and techniques regarding impressions making for complete dentures. There is little published information on studies conducted among Nepalese Prosthodontists. The purpose of this study was to evaluate current materials andmethods for impressions for complete denture prosthodontics in Nepal. Materials & Methods: A questionnaire based survey was conducted among Nepalese Prosthodontists. Ethical approval for the beginning of the study was obtained via Institutional Review Committee, Nepal Medical College. A self-administered anonymous questionnaire was distributed to the participants. Data were analyzed by using frequency distribution.Results: Majority of responses indicated use of irreversible hydrocolloid in stock metal tray for making the preliminary impression. The selective pressure was the predominantly used impression philosophy (78.3%). The most common material for the fabrication of custom trays was autopolymerizing acrylic resin (96.7%). All respondents border molded the custom tray prior to making the final impression. The final impression materials used were zinc oxide eugenol impression paste (73.3%), polyvinylsiloxane (11.7%), polyether (11.7%) and polysulphide (3.3%). Conclusion: Although there is variability in impression materials andtechniques used by Prosthodontists in Nepal for the fabrication of complete dentures, the results showed interesting trends. Most practitioners followed the traditional techniques of complete denture impression procedures.Keywords: complete denture; custom tray; edentulism; impression.

Background: Ridge morphology is one of the important recognized factors affecting denture retention, stability, support and masticatory function in edentulous patients. The form of ridge affects the planning as well as determines the prognosis of treatment. The objective of this study was to assess maxillary residual ridge morphology according to American College of Prosthodontists (ACP) classification system and to find association between type of ridge morphology of maxillary arch with age and duration of edentulism.     Methods: The study was conducted among 87 completely edentulous patients above 40 years of age visiting department of prosthodontics Nepal Medical College. The morphology of maxillary residual ridges were clinically evaluated and classified according to criteria given by American College of Prosthodontists (ACP) classification system. The findings were associated with age, sex, duration of edentulism and complete       denture wear. Results: In this study, more than two thirds of the patients belonged to the age group of 60 – 80 years and their mean duration of edentulousness was seen to be 5.7 years. One fifth of the patients were using previous complete dentures. Type A maxillary ridge morphology was found to be the most prevalent. The type of maxillary ridge morphology was not found to be associated with either age or gender of an  individual however it varied significantly with length of edentulism and duration of complete denture wears.              Conclusions: Within limitations, it can be concluded that maxillary ridge morphology was not associated with age of an individual however the longer duration of edentulism or complete denture use would make the type of ridge morphology more unfavorable. Keywords: maxillary ridge; length of edentulism; residual ridge resorption; ridge morphology.

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