The shortened dental arch concept: awareness and opinion of dentists in Victoria, Australia.

BACKGROUND

The occlusion of a complete dental arch is generally desirable but not necessary nor always achievable in many individuals. It is, however, relevant for dentists to consider what minimum number of teeth is required by individuals for oral function. This study investigated dentists' awareness and opinion of the shortened dental arch (SDA) concept in an Australian context.

METHODS

A self-administered voluntary and anonymous questionnaire was mailed to a sample of 434 dentists, randomly selected from both rural and metropolitan locations in Victoria, Australia. The information collected included awareness of the SDA concept and its application as a treatment option.

RESULTS

More than half of the respondents (61%) were aware of the SDA concept. All respondents 'agreed' or 'strongly agreed' with the seven criteria of SDA proposed in this study based on Käyser (1989). The majority (78.4%) believed that the SDA concept is useful in clinical practice. Dentists with <20 years of experience expressed more awareness compared to others (χ(2) test, p = 0.004).

CONCLUSIONS

Most dentists who responded to this survey agreed that the SDA is a practical and useful treatment modality for older adults with limitations to complex restorative care. However, application of the SDA varied considerably among dentists.