Partial edentulism and removable partial denture design in a dental school population: a survey in Greece.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the pattern of partial edentulism and the most frequent designs of cobalt-chromium removable partial dentures (RPDs), constructed at the Dental School of Athens, Greece. METHODS AND MATERIALS: Five hundred and fifty-three patients, between 42 and 81 years old, mostly males, treated by undergraduate dental students, were included. The survey was based on visual evaluation of master casts and work authorisation to dental technicians. Aspects examined were: Kennedy Classification, modification areas, major connectors, clasping, placement of rest seats and indirect retention. RESULTS: Kennedy Class I was the most common encountered in the maxilla (50.5%) and in the mandible (70%). The most frequent major connectors were the lingual bar (92.6%) and the U-shaped palatal strap (54%). The most common clasp was the Roach (69.2%) in Class I and Class II. In Class III and IV, the most common was the occlusally approaching clasp (55% and 70%). The most frequent location of the rest was mesial of abutment teeth. On the average, 39.5% of Class I RPDs and 58.6% of Class II RPDs had indirect retainers. CONCLUSION: A combination of the two major philosophies of RPD design (biomechanical and hygienic) was evident in the RPDs examined in our study.

Screening of edentulous patients in a dental school population using the prosthodontic diagnostic index.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to classify a number of completely or partially edentulous patients who attended undergraduate clinics at the Dental School of Athens using the prosthodontic diagnostic index (PDI) to identify the complexity of the cases treated by the students. BACKGROUND: There is a scarcity of studies, concerning prosthodontic patients and screening them according to a classification system such as the PDI. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The survey was conducted on 181 patients who attended the clinics for treatment. The PDI categorised the patients into four classes (Class I-IV) according to the severity of certain diagnostic findings. RESULTS: From the 110 completely edentulous patients, 27 patients were in Class I, 21 in Class II, 15 in Class III and 47 in Class IV. From the 71 partially edentulous patients, two were in Class I, 17 in Class II, 29 in Class III and 23 in Class IV. CONCLUSION: Our results showed that the majority of patients were categorised in Class III (partially edentulous) and IV (completely edentulous). This indicates the need to introduce a proper screening tool, such as the PDIs, during the initial examination, to achieve a successful treatment.