Predoctoral Prosthodontic Clinical Curriculum for Complete Dentures: Survey in Turkish Dental Schools

Abstract

The aim of this study was to evaluate predoctoral complete denture curricula in the dental schools of Turkey in terms of materials, techniques, and approaches. A questionnaire with twenty-two multiple-choice questions was prepared and sent by e-mail to the directors of the prosthodontic departments of the seventeen long-established dental schools in Turkey. All schools responded for a response rate of 100 percent. All schools (100 percent) reported using irreversible hydrocolloid impression material for preliminary impression, impression compound for border molding, zinc oxide eugenol for a inal impression, and heat curing technique for complete denture processing. A majority of schools said they used similar materials in complete dentures: cold cured acrylic resin in fabrication of record bases (70.5 percent) and anatomic teeth for posterior region (70.5 percent). The majority of schools did not use eccentric interocclusal records (76 percent) or occlusal equilibration and face-bow preservation (94 percent) and did not treat patients who require tooth-supported overdentures (70.5 percent). None of the schools taught treatment of implant-retained overdentures in their curriculum. Eleven schools (65 percent) used positioning mandible in centric relation techniques performed by both the clinician and the patient. It can be concluded that dental schools in Turkey have different prosthodontic curricula regarding complete dentures, although some topics are the same.

Current educational concepts and techniques related to impression making of removable complete dentures

“…Further, all dental schools taught border molding using a stick modeling compound with a custom tray for the impression making. This result agrees with the finding that all Turkish dental schools used impression compounds for border molding [9], and 98% of the US schools taught border molding with custom trays [5]. Using the stick-modeling compound with a custom tray constituted the standard practice of border molding according to curriculum-compliant textbooks.…”

“…The questionnaire was based on certain existing studies [5][6][7][8][9] and translated into Japanese. It contained nine multiple-choice questions and the respondents were asked to choose the most appropriate choice related to impression making during removable complete denture fabrication corresponding with the undergraduate students' clinical curriculum on the clinical training in the dental hospital.…”

“…However, these survey responses among schools in the US varied. Similar surveys have been conducted in the United Kingdom [8] and Turkey [9], but they investigated only materials, techniques, and methods that have not been investigated in previous research.…”

Effectiveness of a simplified method for final impression in complete denture treatment: A pragmatic clinical trial

“…For example, surveys in dental schools, postdoctoral programmes, prosthodontists and general dentists have showed variations, such as the use of an impression compound for border moulding associated with polyvinyl siloxane/polysulfide for final impression in the United States or irreversible hydrocolloid as the preferred material for final impression in the United Kingdom . Another survey in Turkish dental schools revealed that irreversible hydrocolloid impression material for preliminary impression, impression compound for border moulding and zinc oxide eugenol for final impression are the most commonly used materials . A study that included 44 dental schools in the United States surveyed the material and procedures adopted in the undergraduate curriculum and also revealed great variation regarding several aspects of denture construction, such as “selective pressure technique” (71%), border moulding with impression compound for final impression (64%), vent holes in custom trays (59%), visible light‐cured composite resin material for fabrication of custom trays (70%), baseplate wax for relief of the custom trays (73%), open‐mouth technique (86%) and polysulfide material for final impression (39%).…”

Review on Various Complete Denture Techniques.

“…This technique was acquainted as an option with adjusted complete denture where tracing procedure was viewed as hard to perform. This has been adjusted in the undergraduate complete denture educational programs over the world [9,10] In the first appointment, primary impression is made with impression compound or alginate. The lab procedure is like the seven visit denture.…”