title: The shortened dental arch concept: awareness and opinion of dentists in Victoria, Australia.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The occlusion of a complete dental arch is generally desirable but not necessary nor always achievable in many individuals. It is, however, relevant for dentists to consider what minimum number of teeth is required by individuals for oral function. This study investigated dentists' awareness and opinion of the shortened dental arch (SDA) concept in an Australian context.
  
  
  METHODS
  A self-administered voluntary and anonymous questionnaire was mailed to a sample of 434 dentists, randomly selected from both rural and metropolitan locations in Victoria, Australia. The information collected included awareness of the SDA concept and its application as a treatment option.
  
  
  RESULTS
  More than half of the respondents (61%) were aware of the SDA concept. All respondents 'agreed' or 'strongly agreed' with the seven criteria of SDA proposed in this study based on Käyser (1989). The majority (78.4%) believed that the SDA concept is useful in clinical practice. Dentists with <20 years of experience expressed more awareness compared to others (χ(2) test, p = 0.004).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Most dentists who responded to this survey agreed that the SDA is a practical and useful treatment modality for older adults with limitations to complex restorative care. However, application of the SDA varied considerably among dentists.
authors.affiliation: Melbourne Dental School, The University of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Abuzar
authors.affiliation: Royal Dental Hospital, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
authors.forename: A J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Humplik
authors.affiliation: Melbourne Dental School, The University of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Shahim
mesh_terms: D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D001294:Attitude to Health; D003724:Dental Arch / Q000473:pathology*; D003766:Dental Occlusion; D003815:Dentists / Q000523:psychology*; D004499:Education, Dental, Graduate; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007576:Jaw, Edentulous, Partially / Q000145:classification* / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation; D008297:Male; D008409:Mastication / Q000502:physiology; D008875:Middle Aged; D011788:Quality of Life; D012424:Rural Population; D057566:Self Report; D013704:Temporomandibular Joint / Q000502:physiology; D057085:Tooth Wear / Q000517:prevention & control; D014505:Urban Population; D014739:Victoria
keywords: Dentist awareness; older adults; oral function; patient acceptance; shortened dental arch