A seminar/case-based approach to teaching removable partial dentures to predoctoral students

This article describes a seminar/case-based, instructional model designed to simulate removable partial denture (RPD) problem-solving and decision-making processes encountered in third-year clinic in dental school and in dental general practice. Groups of approximately 20 second-year students (in the 3-year program) meet in a series of six 1-hour seminars during the first days of the course. Following the seminars, students complete an exercise on mouth preparation and multiple clasp and major connector designs on prototype casts. This is followed by survey-design exercises on casts of dentitions representing six variations of RPD requirements. Instructors assist students during the practice phase of each class. Each 2-hour practice session is followed by a 1-hour practical examination. The last day of the course is devoted to a comprehensive final practical examination on both maxillary and mandibular casts, incorporating any of the design features previously studied.