Awareness and Preference of General Dental Practitioners towards Pre-Prosthetic Surgery as an Adjunctive to Complete Denture Therapy

¹Maraai Orafi, Assistant professor and consultant, Department of oral and maxillofacial surgery, University of Benghazi, Benghazi, Libya

²Gazia Mohamed EL Bakoush, Assistant lecturer, Department of prosthodotics, University of Benghazi, Benghazi, Libya

*Corresponding Author

Maraai Orafi, Assistant professor and consultant, Department of oral and maxillofacial surgery, University of Benghazi, Benghazi, Libya, Tel: 00218915106775; 00218925106775; E-mail: [email protected]

Received Date: April 29, 2021

Publication Date: July 23, 2021

ABSTRACT

Objective: The aim of this study is to evaluate the attitude and awareness of sample of Libyan dentists towards preprosthetic surgery.

Materials and method: An observational study was undertaken for 150 registered dentists with a Bachelor of Dental Surgery degree, currently practicing in different cities of Libya. Only 109 dentists respond to our questions. Dentists with less than 5 years in Practice and who have no experience with removable prosthesis were excluded. This study was approved by the research ethical committee of Faculty of Dentistry-Benghazi University. Previous studies were used to prepare a questionnaire which includes questions about personal data, awareness and preference of dentist of preprosthetic surgery. Questionnaire was assessed by two expert oral- maxillofacial surgeon and prosthodontist.

Results: Out of 150 dentists to whom the questionnaire was sent, only 109 answered the questions. The study included 64 (58.7%) male and 45 (41.3%) female with male to female ratio 1.4:1. The age range of the participant was 30 to 52 years old. Regarding the years of practice, 18.1% had 5 years, 26.7% had 5-10 years and majority (55.2%) had more than 10 years of experience in practice of removable prosthesis. 41.9 % of participant constructing more than 10 dentures per year, 22.9% of dentists perform 5-10 denture insertion per year and 35.2% perform 3-5 dentures per year.

Conclusion: For surgeons to satisfy the needs of denture providers, it is advisable that oral and maxillofacial surgeons consult with the dentists who will construct the prosthesis rather than relying solely on their own opinion about what should be done for the patient.

KEYWORDS: Implant; Graft; Preprosthetic; Surgery