The Concepts of Complete Denture Occlusion amongst Dental Fraternity

Abstract

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.