An evidence-based guide to occlusion and articulation. Part 2: A guide to the evolution of the teeth and joint

Although this is essentially a review, it has not been written in the passive, third-person style normally associated with scientific writing, as it is intended to be thought-provoking and, hopefully, educational. It has therefore been written in more of a conversational style, and is aimed at students, dentists and dental technicians who are receptive to a slightly different view of occlusion and articulation, based on evidence

An evidence-based guide to occlusion and articulation. Part 1: Occlusal terminology and a guide to jaw movement.

Although this is essentially a review, it has not been written in the passive, third-person style normally associated with scientific writing, as it is intended to be thought-provoking and, hopefully, educational. It has therefore been written in more of a conversational style, and is aimed at students, dentists and dental technicians who are receptive to a slightly different view of occlusion and articulation, based on evidence. Occlusion is a topic that has become a kind of archaic minefield of conflicting ideas, propositions, and above all, solutions, most of which are based on a complete lack of understanding of the evolution and development of teeth, and by extension, of clinically objective evidence. That in itself is a statement of conflict (and perhaps even heretical), but it is by way of warning that this guide is not going to be much like anything you will find in standard text-books of dentistry or dental technology. It is, rather, an attempt to help you navigate through what you will read elsewhere, in the hope that eventually you will find an understanding that you can live with. It will appear as a sequential series in 7 Parts

An evidence-based guide to occlusion and articulation. Part 5: New roots: titanium and its influence on occlusion; and to cusp or not to cusp?

Although this is essentially a review, it has not been written in the passive, third-person style normally associated with scientific writing, as it is intended to be thought-provoking and, hopefully, educational. It has therefore been written in more of a conversational style, and is aimed at students, dentists and dental technicians who are receptive to a slightly different view of occlusion and articulation, based on evidence. Occlusion is a topic that has become a kind of archaic minefield of conflicting ideas, propositions, and above all, solutions, most of which are based on a complete lack of understanding of the evolution and development of teeth, and by extension, of clinically objective evidence

An evidence-based guide to occlusion and articulation. Part 4: Unworn dentitions

SUMMARY AND PREAMBLE TO THE SERIESAlthough this is essentially a review, it has not been written in the passive, third-person style normally associated with scientific writing, as it is intended to be thought-provoking and, hopefully, educational. It has therefore been written in more of a conversational style, and is aimed at students, dentists and dental technicians who are receptive to a slightly different view of occlusion and articulation, based on evidence. Occlusion is a topic that has become a kind of archaic minefield of conflicting ideas, propositions, and above all, solutions, most of which are based on a complete lack of understanding of the evolution and development of teeth, and by extension, of clinically objective evidence. That in itself is a statement of conflict (and perhaps even heretical), but it is by way of warning that this guide is not going to be much like anything you will find in standard text-books of dentistry or dental technology. It is, rather, an attempt to help you navigate through what you will read elsewhere, in the hope that eventually you will find an understanding that you can live with. It will appear as a sequential series in 7 Parts

An evidence-based guide to occlusion and articulation. Part 3: A guide to functional occlusion: teeth vs joint

Although this is essentially a review, it has not been written in the passive, third-person style normally associated with scientific writing, as it is intended to be thought-provoking and, hopefully, educational. It has therefore been written in more of a conversational style, and is aimed at students, dentists and dental technicians who are receptive to a slightly different view of occlusion and articulation, based on evidence. Occlusion is a topic that has become a kind of archaic minefield of conflicting ideas, propositions, and above all, solutions, most of which are based on a complete lack of understanding of the evolution and development of teeth, and by extension, of clinically objective evidence. That in itself is a statement of conflict (and perhaps even heretical), but it is by way of warning that this guide is not going to be much like anything you will find in standard text-books of dentistry or dental technology. It is, rather, an attempt to help you navigate through what you will read elsewhere, in the hope that eventually you will find an understanding that you can live with. It will appear as a sequential series in 7 Parts

The Complexity of Care and the Dunning-Kruger Effect

There appears to be an increase in litigation against general dental practitioners which is increasingly due to clinicians exceeding their competence, because they may not be aware that they lack the required skills: the socalled Dunning-Kruger effect. The purpose of this paper is first, to briefly explain the Dunning-Kruger effect, and second, to propose guidelines for dentists confronted with differing levels of complexity of care, in order to increase practitioners’ awareness of their competence, and by extension, their limitations. An example of complexity levels is given using the discipline of Prosthodontics. It is concluded that there needs to be a revision of the scope of practice for dentistry, which currently provides an “anything goes” approach; a revision of Rule 21 of the Health Professions Council of South Africa, whose provisions need to be more precise as they are currently being ignored; and a revision of the system of providing accreditation for CPD courses and in particular for the presenters and content of those course

An evidence-based guide to occlusion and articulation. Part 7: Guidelines for mechanical articulator use; conclusions and a note on complexity

Although this is essentially a review, it has not been written in the passive, third-person style normally associated with scientific writing, as it is intended to be thought-provoking and, hopefully, educational. It has therefore been written in more of a conversational style, and is aimed at students, dentists and dental technicians who are receptive to a slightly different view of occlusion and articulation, based on evidence. Occlusion is a topic that has become a kind of archaic minefield of conflicting ideas, propositions, and above all, solutions, most of which are based on a complete lack of understanding of the evolution and development of teeth, and by extension, of clinically objective evidence. That in itself is a statement of conflict (and perhaps even heretical), but it is by way of warning that this guide is not going to be much like anything you will find in standard text-books of dentistry or dental technology. It is, rather, an attempt to help you navigate through what you will read elsewhere, in the hope that eventually you will find an understanding that you can live with. It will appear as a sequential series in 7 Parts

An evidence-based guide to occlusion and articulation. Part 6: Artificial jaws: articulators real and imagined

Although this is essentially a review, it has not been written in the passive, third-person style normally associated with scientific writing, as it is intended to be thought-provoking and, hopefully, educational. It has therefore been written in more of a conversational style, and is aimed at students, dentists and dental technicians who are receptive to a slightly different view of occlusion and articulation, based on evidence. Occlusion is a topic that has become a kind of archaic minefield of conflicting ideas, propositions, and above all, solutions, most of which are based on a complete lack of understanding of the evolution and development of teeth, and by extension, of clinically objective evidence. That in itself is a statement of conflict (and perhaps even heretical), but it is by way of warning that this guide is not going to be much like anything you will find in standard text-books of dentistry or dental technology. It is, rather, an attempt to help you navigate through what you will read elsewhere, in the hope that eventually you will find an understanding that you can live with. It will appear as a sequential series in 7 Parts

A simplified and evidence-informed approach to designing removable partial dentures

For many decades the literature has regularly reported that there is a discrepancy between what is taught in dental school and what is practised, especially in the field of removable partial dentures. Not only that, but for more than 60 years reports from around the world have shown that, usually, the majority of clinicians abdicate their responsibility to design a removable partial denture (RPD) and instead leave this to the dental technician, who has no knowledge of the clinical condition of the patient and works only from a cast. Most patients around the world who require RPDs to improve aesthetics and chewing can only afford a removable prosthesis simply because the majority are poor. But RPDs can improve these aspects and contribute to an improved quality of life

Patient satisfaction with complete dentures received from an urban district hospital

To assess some of the factors that may contribute to patient satisfaction with a complete denture service provided by a district hospital in South Africa. The participants were patients who had received mucosaborne complete dentures at least one year previously. A questionnaire recorded demographics and treatment details either in person or telephonically. All patients were also asked to score a variety of factors related to satisfaction on a validated visual analogue scale. Associations were sought between patient demographics, treatment procedures and satisfaction. Sample size analysis required a sample size of 180 to detect at least a medium effect size, and 76 to detect large effect sizes. However, it was not possible to increase the sample size beyond 157 in the time available. Several associations were observed that were statistically significant, but most were of small effect. Even though 75% were upset at having lost their teeth, 64% reported that they had not minded wearing dentures. Overall there were high levels of satisfaction, irrespective of the treatment procedures used. There were few meaningful associations between patient characteristics and satisfaction scores. It was clear that the patients had adapted well to their dentures. Patient satisfaction and patient adaptability are subject to many factors, and how patients cope, and what factors help remains unknown. It is clear the provision of this complete denture service in the public sector improved these patients’ quality of life and that patients can adapt to mucosa-borne dentures provided in a public settin