The Use of Specific Dental School‐Taught Restorative Techniques by Practicing Clinicians

Abstract

In 1995, a survey requesting information about the utilization of certain prosthodontic techniques was mailed to 3,544 graduates of a midwestern dental school. Responses were received from 1,455 alumni, representing a 41 percent return rate. In general, the results are consistent with international and national trends and show significant disparity in the utilization rates of certain procedures between general dentists and prosthodontists, as well as a disconnect between what is taught in the undergraduate dental educational program and what is applied in practice. For example, while prosthodontists typically apply what was taught in their educational program, utilization rates of general dentists for the facebow was 29.64 percent; the custom tray 68.48 percent; border molding 58.67 percent; altered casts 24.10 percent; custom posts 49.29 percent; prefabricated posts 67.54 percent; and semi-adjustable articulators 50.64 percent.

A Randomized Trial on Simplified and Conventional Methods for Complete Denture Fabrication: Cost Analysis

“…Recent literature has questioned the real need for conventional methods . Reports of adopted practices for denture fabrication have revealed that dentists in private practice do not employ traditional sequences of procedures; instead, they employ simpler methods.…”

Efficient Resource Use in Simplified Complete Denture Fabrication

“…The traditional academic method (T) of fabrication of conventional dentures taught in most North American dental schools 10,11 is not used by most general practitioners in the United States 12 and United Kingdom 13 . They use simplified methods(S), and this has caused concern within the dental education community 13 .…”

Accuracy of a separating foil impression using a novel polyolefin foil compared to a custom tray and a stock tray technique

“…The use of custom trays is regarded as the gold standard and is adopted by the majority of prosthodontic specialists. 16 A custom tray ensures constant material thickness and facilitates a dental and/or mucosal support. A variety of in vitro studies demonstrate that a uniform spacer thickness not exceeding 2 mm offers ideal preconditions for accurate impressions in terms of dimensional accuracy and marginal precision.…”

“… 15 More recent data reveals a significant disparity in the utilization rate of custom trays between general dentists (68%) and prosthodontic specialists (100%). 16 …”