Removable Clinical Skills

Measurable Outcomes:

Total Hours: 550

Full Lower Denture Completed with existing serviceable Full Upper Denture

Full Upper Denture Completed with existing serviceable Lower RPD

Full Upper Denture and Lower RPD Completed

Immediate Upper and Lower Full Dentures Completed

Lower RPD and Upper RPD In Process

Full Upper Denture and Full Lower Overdenture In Process

The patient featured above presented to the clinic with a loose upper full denture and she was unhappy with the esthetic of the denture. The denture was extremely bulky around the vestibule and the VDO was open and the occlusion was unbalanced which caused her difficulties eating and speaking. This case was interesting because the patient had a very narrow maxilla so it was recommended that we arrange the occlusion in crossbite. After choosing a smaller tooth mold in a lighter color and making the patients VDO appropriate the denture was processed and the patient was so pleased. It was great watching my patient smile at herself in the mirror and finally feeling happy with her smile and appearance.

The patient featured above presented to the clinic with an ill-fitting upper full denture and lower RPD made by Western Dental. The patient had gotten permission from Denti-Cal for a new pair to be made. Making the patient's upper full denture went smoothly, however, the lower RPD proved tricky. The patient had a crown on #19 that had very little contour so we had a hard time making the Akers clasp grab onto the tooth beneath the minimal height of contour. We ended up having to use a diamond bur to make a divet on the crown that the clasp could grab onto. In the future, I would advise to the patient that we redo the crown before we go through the fabrication of an RPD.

Removable Prosthetic Competency Reflection:

I am currently wrapping up my Rem Prosth Competency but so far each portion of the competency has gone well. I have required little to no assistance from the removable faculty. I have received perfect marks on each aspect of the competency grading and I feel competent in fabricating and delivering dentures. Next week I will be delivering the Full/Full overdenture and I am confident that I will pass my competency.

I feel that I was exposed to a good variety of full dentures cases and I feel fairly confident in planning and fabricating full dentures for my patient. However, I struggled finding and completing cases for partial dentures. Time and time again any time I would be close to starting a RPD case the patient wouldn't have the finances, or they needed extensive work before the RPDs could be fabricated, so I had to squeeze in a few PRDs at the end of my final corner. I really wish I had more exposure to planning and fabricating RPDs. I would say that I completed about 50% of mycases without significant faculty interviention. Removable is a complex branch of dentistry and each case is so different and has isn't own obstacles and unique requirements. Although I feel competent, I feel that if I was able to get though four more cases I would feel alot more confident creating removable prosthetics for my patients.