Assessment of crown and bridge work quality among Sudanese dental practitioners

Purpose The aim of the present study is to investigate the quality of crown and bridge work among dentists in Khartoum state by mean of a questionnaire. Materials and methods Questionnaire was distributed to all dentists (about 230) who work in private clinics and primary health centers in Khartoum state. A total of 152 usable questionnaires were collected, giving a response rate 66.09%. Results High-speed hand pieces were the instrument of choice (80.54%) and according to number of spray ports single port was found to be the most common type (80.43%). Alginate was the material of choice as a final impression material (68.24%) followed by condensation-cured silicone (24.32%). Impression trays used by dentists were metal tray 23.53%, rigid plastic tray 12.5% and both 63.97%. Results in concern of the use of the retracting cord indicated that 53.69% never use it. Results also indicated that 36.05% never used temporary crown and bridge. Traditional glass ionomer cements and zinc phosphate cements (56%) were equally selected as best choice for final luting cement of crown and bridge work. Both verbal and written prescriptions (81.73%) were the most common used way of communication between dentists and dental technicians. Conclusion It is concluded that the majority of the surveyed dentists mainly used alginate as a final impression material for crown and bridge work. It was also observed, the absence of application of retraction cord and temporary restoration in their practice for crown and bridge work.