The Results of a Brief Survey of Complete Denture Prosthodontic Techniques in Predoctoral Programs in North American Dental Schools

A brief mail survey of North American dental schools was undertaken to ascertain the current techniques in complete denture prosthodontics regarding preliminary and final impressions, record bases, and denture teeth. Of the 64 schools surveyed, 54 responded (84%). Seventy-four percent of the respondents used only irreversible hydrocolloid (alginate) for their preliminary impressions; 15% used only modeling plastic impression compound. Eighty-one percent used only modeling plastic impression compound for border molding of the final impression tray; 7% used only polyether impression material. Forty-eight percent used only polysulfide rubber (PR) impression material for their final impression material; 4% used only polyether impression material. Only 1 school still used shellac as one of its materials for record bases. Thirty-five percent used only Triad; 35% used only acrylic resin; 24% used both of these materials. Thirteen percent of responding schools used only nonanatomic teeth. The majority (54%) used all three options (nonanatomic, semianatomic, and anatomic). Eleven percent used lingualized occlusion. As compared with a survey performed in 1985, the use of irreversible hydrocolloid as a preliminary impression material, the use of visible light-cured resins for record bases, and the use of anatomic teeth have increased. The use of plastic impression compound for border molding and PR as the final impression material has largely remained the same.