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Complicating factors in complete dentures: assessing case complexity

British Dental Journal volume 231, pages 451–455 (2021)Cite this article

Abstract

This article aims to describe common complicating factors that impact on the success of complete denture treatment and present an overview of the challenges these pose in practice. The authors present a range of medical, oral and social factors to consider when providing treatment to edentulous patients, allowing the practitioner to identify cases which may require referral. The information is applicable to all dental practitioners, and is a useful aid to highlight complicating factors in individual patients and to make well-informed clinical decisions.

Key points

  • Dental practitioners must be able to assess complexity in complete dentures and plan care for individual patients.

  • Medical, oral and social factors all contribute to case complexity in complete dentures.

  • Knowledge of these factors, combined with the ability to identify these through patient assessment, may aid practitioners in making well-informed clinical decisions to support edentulous patients.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Clinical Teacher in Restorative Dentistry, School of Clinical Dentistry, The University of Sheffield, UK

    Mark Bishop

  2. Clinical Academic Fellow in Restorative Dentistry, School of Clinical Dentistry, The University of Sheffield, UK

    Jonathan Dixon

  3. Undergraduate Dental Student, School of Clinical Dentistry, The University of Sheffield, UK

    Bhavisha Mistry

Authors
  1. Mark Bishop
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  2. Jonathan Dixon
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  3. Bhavisha Mistry
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Contributions

Mr Mark Bishop: conceptualised and contributed to the writing of the paper. Mr Jonathan Dixon: contributed to the writing of the paper. Miss Bhavisha Mistry: contributed to the writing of the paper.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jonathan Dixon.

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The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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Cite this article

Bishop, M., Dixon, J. & Mistry, B. Complicating factors in complete dentures: assessing case complexity. Br Dent J 231, 451–455 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41415-021-3528-4

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