Clinical outcomes of predoctoral implant dentistry education: A Systematic Review.

Abstract

Objectives: To systematically synthesize the status of predoctoral implant dental education in terms of clinical outcomes including implant success and survival of them when placed by predoctoral students. Materials and methods: A thorough search was carried out up to February 2019 using Medline (OVID), EMBASE, ERIC, and Web of Science electronic databases. In addition to this, bibliographies of the potentially eligible articles were searched manually. Abstracts that seemed to satisfy the initial selection criteria were selected for the recovery of the full text. The full-text risk of bias assessment was then done, in line with the selection criteria by two reviewers. The selected articles were evaluated using the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) Critical Appraisal tools. The GRADE approach was adapted, but not validated, for observational studies to assess the certainty of evidence. Results: Overall, 15 articles were included. Most of the reported implants were used to support mandibular overdentures or single unit implants and their survival rates were found to be generally favorable. Only a few studies also used patient satisfaction surveys which displayed overall satisfaction, suggesting that the dental implant treatment may be adequately provided in school settings. Clinical significance: The success and survival of the implant’s type done in an undergraduate classroom setting is indicative of the undergraduate dental implant curriculum. Based on this work, it can be concluded that the success and survival of such implants appear to be reasonable and most of the patients getting an implant at the school were satisfied.