Analyses of treatment outcomes for complete dentures provided in an undergraduate teaching programme

Identifying the source of difficulties some patients experience after replacement dentures are made is an essential part of improving quality care should further treatment to assist the patient be considered necessary. This report examines the findings of a retrospective review of 181 patients' records following the provision of complete dentures by undergraduate dental students at the University of Otago School of Dentistry. Treatment was provided in 1998; the audit commenced in August 1999 to allow sufficient time for the records to include review appointments. Forty-eight patients (26.5 percent) were recommended to receive further replacement dentures to correct errors identified by the supervising clinician. Causation was broadly attributed to dissimilarities from patients' previous dentures (42 percent), occlusal factors (33 percent), and difficulties in establishing a functional denture-bearing area (11 percent). These findings were compared with a published analysis of denture faults identified during the clinical examination of patients referred to a specialist in dental prosthetics. Evidence suggests that the use of a clinical technique which incorporates information from previously successful dentures may be appropriate in the construction of replacement dentures.