title: Implant overdentures: dental students' performance in fabrication, denture quality, and patient satisfaction.
abstract: The purpose of this study was to evaluate dental students' performance when fabricating a mandibular two-implant overdenture (OD) as compared to conventional dentures (CD) and to determine if these prostheses were successful. Twenty students and twenty patients were divided into two groups: complete denture group (CDG) and maxillary denture and two-implant OD group (ODG). Students' progress was evaluated at each appointment as they were given a clinical assessment score (CAS), which varied from 1 (unacceptable, needs to repeat procedure) to 4 (acceptable, no errors). The success of the prosthesis was evaluated by the patients using a visual analog scale (VAS) and an expert (a prosthodontist) using a denture quality assessment (DQA) form. Performance for both groups was not statistically different across all eight appointments (CDG 3.16 versus ODG 3.25; p=0.46). Patients with ODs reported greater stability with their dentures (p=0.048) and greater ability to chew than patients with CDs (p=0.03). There were no differences between the groups in terms of expert appraisal (ODG 71.1 versus CDG 67.5; p=0.59). The performance of dental students when fabricating a two-implant OD is thus not different from that of a CD. Students can successfully fabricate a two-implant OD as perceived by both patients and prosthodontists.
authors.affiliation: Division of Restorative Dentistry, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, University of Western Ontario, Dental Sciences Building, Room 0149, London, Ontario, Canada, N6A 5C1. Cecilia.aragon@schulich.uwo.ca
authors.forename: Cecilia E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Aragon
authors.forename: Angelica Lee Petrina
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Cornacchio
authors.forename: Lilia Marcela
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Ibarra
authors.forename: Muhammed N
authors.initials: MN
authors.lastname: Saad
authors.forename: Elaine
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Zibrowski
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002983:Clinical Competence / Q000592:standards; D018772:Dental Marginal Adaptation; D019094:Dental Prosthesis, Implant-Supported / Q000523:psychology / Q000592:standards; D003779:Denture Design / Q000523:psychology / Q000592:standards; D003781:Denture Retention; D003826:Denture, Complete, Lower / Q000523:psychology / Q000592:standards; D003827:Denture, Complete, Upper / Q000523:psychology / Q000592:standards; D003828:Denture, Overlay / Q000592:standards; D004497:Education, Dental; D004955:Esthetics, Dental; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008409:Mastication / Q000502:physiology; D008875:Middle Aged; D009910:Oral Hygiene; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D011476:Prosthodontics / Q000193:education; D013060:Speech / Q000502:physiology; D013335:Students, Dental; D013499:Surface Properties; D014093:Tooth, Artificial; D014716:Vertical Dimension