In Japan, the number of elderly people with missing teeth has been decreasing. However, the number of patients wearing complete denture has not decreased. Therefore, suitable complete denture adjustment for the elderly people is important. The chair time and treatment contents (medical interview, medical examination, fitting, occlusion, adjustment, denture cleaning, patient’s instruction, polishing, postoperative instruction, denture score, blank time) involved in complete denture adjustment were investigated and it is confirmed that there was a lot of patient’s and blank time. The blank time is defined as “time not engaged in treatment” for the dentist, “observation time” for the assistant, and “time sitting in the chair doing nothing” for the patient. This research aimed to clarify a treatment procedure that allows for effective use of the blank time to provide appropriate treatment to each patient. The participants included 31 patients with complete dentures, 14 dentists, and 12 less experienced dentists. Treatment timetables were created using video data. Analyses were carried out to develop a more effective treatment protocol by changing treatment procedures and contents. Issues associated with treatment were also investigated. Treatment activities and chair time during denture adjustment (57 participants) were investigated to do treatment smoothly. As a result there were 22 out of 31 patients (deficiency of the denture cleaning etc.) whose treatment activities should be improved. The results suggested that treatment procedures that allow for effective use of patient’s and less experienced dentist’s blank time to provide appreciate treatment to each patient can be clarified.
Improving the efficiency of complete denture treatment
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JD4_1069.pdf
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