Objectives: To assess the concepts of complete denture occlusion among dental fraternity. Study Design And Setting: Cross-sectional study conducted at various dental hospitals and institutes of Karachi, for a period of six months, from 1st June’2019 to 30th November’2019 Methodology: Total 849 dental practitioners who are currently practising were included. A well-structured and validated questionnaire was used for data collection. SPSS version 25 was used. Results: Bilateral balanced occlusion was an ideal occlusion by majority subjects i.e, 530(62.4%) in patients with wellformed ridges, followed by 464(54.7%) candidates with skeletal class 1, total 376(44.3%) chose it with uncontrolled diabetes mellitus, 365(43%) in single complete denture cases, 339(39.9%) with increased inter-arch space, 298(35.1%) with parafunction habits, 296(34.9%) in patients with history of neuromuscular disorder and 271(31.9%) where a complete denture opposes a removable partial denture. Furthermore, Lingualized occlusion was preferred by 341(40.25%) participants for patients with skeletal class 3. Total 316(37.2%) candidates chose it for patients with displaceable supporting tissue followed by 264(31.1%) who chose it for skeletal 2 and 260(30.6%) for cases of highly resorbed ridges. Lastly, 311(36.6%) chose canine guided occlusion with highly resorbed ridges accompanied by high aesthetic demand A significant difference between education level and knowledge of occlusal schemes was also found. Chi-square (73.87), df 6, p-value =0.000. Conclusion: Dental practitioners lack adequate knowledge of occlusal schemes in terms of prescription in complete denture patients. A significant difference between the education level and knowledge of occlusal schemes was found. Therefore, awareness of various occlusal schemes should be increased at undergraduate level.
COMPLETE DENTURE IMPRESSION MATERIALS AND TECHNIQUES PRACTICED BY PRIVATE DENTAL PRACTITIONERS: A SURVEY.
