Current Awareness of Removable Prosthodontics in Dentists at King Abdulaziz University

Background: Removable prosthodontics is a branch of prosthodontics that requires a high level of knowledge and great skills. This include the basic and advanced understanding of various principles and the practical skills that are crucial to deliver a good quality and satisfactory removable prostheses. To provide a successful prosthodontic treatment in partially dentate patients with removable partial denture (RPD), the awareness of basic RPD principles and design is mandatory.Therefore, academic education utilizes the good teaching strategies and precise assessment methods for the students to fulfil the required preclinical and clinical skills. In addition, to meet the planned level of competencies, the basic learning domains are required to be fulfilled. In removable prosthodontics, fulfilment of the required knowledge and skills are very crucial to deliver a high-quality prosthesis. In academic study, students are exposed to different learning experiences throughout their years of study to prepare them becoming competent graduates. Some students may face difficulties in understanding and applying the mechanobiological principles of removable partial denture. Therefore, the assessment of their knowledge and cognitive skills, as well as, the current teaching strategies is crucial to reflect upon those strategies and to plan for implementation of future teaching improvements.In this study, students and general dentists were assessed regarding their awareness and understanding of RPD principles and deign which is the initial step in performing this prosthodontic treatment option. Also, pre-lecture and post-lecture assessment was planned to reflect upon the teaching strategy in removable prosthodontics among undergraduate students. Materials and methods: A well-structured online questionnaire in removable partial denture design and principles was formulated to assess the knowledge and cognitive skills of undergraduate, postgraduate students and general dentists at KAU. Also, a pre-lecture and post-lecture assessments were carried out for fifth-year undergraduate students. Results: The proportion of correct answers were higher in female than male students among postgraduates and undergraduates (P<0.05). Also, Postgraduate students showed the highest level of proportion compared to the undergraduates (P<0.05). In addition, a significant higher proportion and scores of correct answers were reported in the after-lecture response among fifth-year students (P<0.05). Conclusion: The level of awareness of removable partial denture increases with the level of experience and lectures are considered as the corner stone in teaching of his branch of prosthodontics