General dental practitioners' perceptions of removable prosthodontics in the undergraduate curriculum

The undergraduate dental curriculum is undergoing rapid change and revision in dental schools worldwide. Decreasing edentulism, the advent of the clinical dental technician, and advances in technology (such as dental implantology) have led to changes in patient management and treatment options for general dental practitioners in New Zealand. The current undergraduate removable prosthodontic curriculum has seen very little change in past years at the School of Dentistry, University of Otago, and is under review to facilitate the teaching of general dental practice in the Final Year. A questionnaire-based survey of 150 general dental practitioners (response rate 74.6 percent) supported modification of the existing removable prosthodontics curriculum to improve its relevance to modern general dental practice. Integration of fixed and removable prosthodontic teaching was recommended.