Predoctoral prosthodontic clinical curriculum for complete dentures: survey in Turkish dental schools

The aim of this study was to evaluate predoctoral complete denture curricula in the dental schools of Turkey in terms of materials, techniques, and approaches. A questionnaire with twenty-two multiple-choice questions was prepared and sent by e-mail to the directors of the prosthodontic departments of the seventeen long-established dental schools in Turkey. All schools responded for a response rate of 100 percent. All schools (100 percent) reported using irreversible hydrocolloid impression material for preliminary impression, impression compound for border molding, zinc oxide eugenol for a final impression, and heat curing technique for complete denture processing. A majority of schools said they used similar materials in complete dentures: cold cured acrylic resin in fabrication of record bases (70.5 percent) and anatomic teeth for posterior region (70.5 percent). The majority of schools did not use eccentric interocclusal records (76 percent) or occlusal equilibration and face-bow preservation (94 percent) and did not treat patients who require tooth-supported overdentures (70.5 percent). None of the schools taught treatment of implant-retained overdentures in their curriculum. Eleven schools (65 percent) used positioning mandible in centric relation techniques performed by both the clinician and the patient. It can be concluded that dental schools in Turkey have different prosthodontic curricula regarding complete dentures, although some topics are the same.