Ten-year study of trends in removable prosthodontic service

To gain an overview of where the field of removable prosthodontics may be heading, an ex post facto research project was completed that randomly sampled the charts of patients screened for removable prosthodontics during 1977-1979 and 1985-1987. The information showed that, overall, the number of complete dentures was declining whereas the number of removable partial dentures was increasing. The fastest growing prosthodontic service was the combination of the maxillary complete denture opposing the mandibular removable partial denture. Curriculum changes based on the results of the research were made.