Patient Satisfaction with Complete Dentures Provided by Undergraduate Dental Students

Objectives: Complete dentures are provided to patients every year at the Charles Clifford Dental Hospital by undergraduate dental students as a primary care service. The aim of this study was to evaluate the quality of the service in order to implement improvements in the overall quality of patient care that we provide. Methods: 121 complete denture patients treated by the 3rd year undergraduate students were evaluated in this study. The patients were asked to complete a questionnaire at the start of the treatment to record the patients' concerns regarding their existing dentures and at the end of the treatment to assess their satisfaction with the new dentures and the treatment process. Old and new dentures were also examined by the clinician to record any relevant faults. Results: 58% of the patients were either dissatisfied or very dissatisfied with their old dentures mainly due to loose dentures. The most common types of errors detected after examination of the old dentures by the clinician included: alveolar ridge size and morphology, vertical dimension, flange extension, lip support and neutral zone space. Overall satisfaction of the patients with the new dentures was: 88% very satisfied, 10% satisfied and 2% very dissatisfied. Conclusion: The results of this study indicate a very high rate of patient satisfaction with the quality of service provided by the 3rd year complete denture clinic.