Teaching Complete Denture Procedures to Dental Students by Conventional or Simplified Methods: A Randomized Clinical...

Area of Science:

• Dental Prosthetics
• Geriatric Dentistry
• Public Health Dentistry

Background:

• Global aging populations increase the demand for complete dentures, particularly in developing countries.
• Cost-efficient denture fabrication techniques are crucial for training dental students and serving low-income populations.
• Evaluating simplified methods is essential for accessible and effective dental rehabilitation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the effectiveness of a simplified complete denture fabrication method versus the conventional method.
• To assess patient-reported outcomes, including oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) and satisfaction.
• To evaluate the functional quality of dentures and the masticatory performance of patients rehabilitated by dental students.

Main Methods:

• Final-year dental students fabricated complete dentures for 36 edentulous patients using either a simplified or conventional method.
• Patients were randomly assigned to one of the two fabrication groups.
• OHRQoL, patient satisfaction, and prosthesis quality were assessed at 1, 3, and 6 months; masticatory performance was evaluated at 3 months.

Main Results:

• No statistically significant differences were found between the simplified and conventional methods regarding OHRQoL, patient satisfaction, or prosthesis quality (p>0.05).
• Masticatory performance also showed no significant difference between the two groups (p>0.05).
• All evaluated parameters remained stable over time within each group.

Conclusions:

• The simplified complete denture fabrication method yields functional quality and patient satisfaction comparable to the conventional method.
• This finding is significant even when dentures are fabricated by dental students.
• The simplified method presents a viable, cost-efficient alternative for complete denture rehabilitation.