Errors in Complete Denture Fabrication during Pre-clinical Learning by Dental Students in Chitwan

Introduction: The success of a competency-based dental curriculum would greatly depend on students acquiring the necessary basic skills in order to practice dentistry safely and with greater confidence. The difficulty that students experience in the transition from pre-clinical to clinical work is an accepted reality of dental education. Practice in simulations laboratory allows students to develop the manual dexterity and technical skills needed for dentistry prior to their exposure to the more challenging patient care environment. Materials and methods: Seventy Ideal Complete Dentures fabricated by undergraduate dental students were evaluated on basis of parameters like porosities in master cast, adaptation and porosities in record bases, occlusion rim, mounting, axial inclination of anterior and posterior teeth, horizontal & vertical glass plate relationship, occlusion, carving. The data collected were analysed for frequency and percentage of occurrence. Results: The most common error made by preclinical students was lateral glass plate relationship (51.4% in our study) followed by fabrication of occlusion rim (48.5%). The least common error was in porosities of master cast about 10%. Conclusion: There is high possibility of incorporating error during complete denture fabrication by undergraduate dental students. The study focuses the need to explore the most effective manner in which students learn and elucidates the mechanism of how students can bridge the gap between theory and practice.