Crown and Bride: Preoperative Assessment

 

This short article is the abstract of the part of the "Crown and Bridge 3-day practical course" for ADC practical examination

A variety of factors have to be considered for the construction of a bridge.

1. Span of the edentulous area
2. Type of the teeth being replaced
3. Quality of supporting teeth
4. Conditions of the teeth in the opposing arch
5. Age of the patient
6. Patients’ ability to bear the treatment cost

Span of the edentulous area means how many teeth have to be replaced by bridge. The greater number of teeth to be replaced, the longer will be the bridge; that in turn, will cause more stress in the bridge itself as well as onto the supporting teeth known as abutments. More stressed bridge will get more fractured ceramic from the metal part.

Type of the teeth decides as to how much masticatory load will have to be borne by the abutments. In case of the lateral incisor pontic, supported by one central incision and one canine, the masticatory load over abutments will be minimum. As we move from the Canines through Premolars to Molars, the quantity of masticatory load increases. Accordingly, we need to increase the number of abutments.

Quality of supporting teeth means how healthy the attachment apparatus of the supporting teeth is present. The healthier the apparatus, the better will be the masticatory load bearing ability of the abutments. It will result in a relatively longer life span of the bridge with minimum number of abutments. If the available healthy root surface area of the abutments will be less than the root surface area of the tooth or teeth being replaced, then a greater number of teeth should be used as abutment to prevent the overloading of any particular abutment tooth and ultimately bridge failure.

Conditions of the teeth present in the opposite dental arch includes the considerations of occlusal surface of the tooth and whether it is extruded. Is it causing mandible deviation during chewing?

Age wise a very young patient cannot be given crown and bridge as their pulp chambers are usually large, and the trauma caused by heat during crown preparation or acids of luring agents may render the pulp tissue dead. This may lead to pulpal or periapical pathology ultimately leading to the failure of the bridge.

Ability to bear treatment cost: The complete cost of the treatment should be explained to the patients before the commencement of the treatment. It would be best if a written consent/acceptance could be arranged regarding the payment. There should always remain a clause of modification in the treatment cost, should the nature of the disease changes during the course of the treatment.

ADC Exam Coaching in India- Prelims & Practical explained

You can see videos for Initial assessment update, Written exam update, and Practical exam update by clicking at the links. (updated on Nov. 4, 2024). You can watch the video if you do not want to read text at HERE.

The Australian Dental Council conducts a series of assessment exams for accreditation of the scientific knowledge, technical and clinical skills and ability to make a clinical judgement of patient care of an overseas dentist whose dental graduate degree is not recognized by the Dental Board of Australia.

Once an overseas dentist successfully clears the assessment process, he or she can register with DBA as a GP and can practice Dentistry in Australia.

Australian Dental Council assessment process is a three-stage process. The first is the initial assessment that I have already explained in the episode 1 of our video series. Now, in episode 2 of the video series, I shall explain the second stage which is written exam and third stage which is practical exam. After going through this video, you will become familiar and confident with every aspect of the exam.

New Blue Print of ADC Written Examination

The success in examination of Australian Dental Council depends on the rigorous practice. Once you understand the format of the written part 1 examination, the type & pattern of questions, you can easily crack it.

Video lecture on ADC written examination is given below. If you do not want to read the article, you can see the video by clicking the following image link:.

ADC Exam Preparation | How to Become Registered Dentist in Australia

A dentist who has got a bachelor's degree from a non-Australian institution needs to pass the skill assessment examination conducted by the Australian Dental Council (ADC) and then needs to register oneself in Dental Board of Australia to practise as a general dentist in Australia or to get a job in public or private sector. 

The ADC examination is a screening examination to establish that dentists trained in dental schools which is not formally reviewed and accredited by the ADC, have the necessary competence to practise dentistry in Australia. 

Following are the steps, an overseas dentist needs to go through to qualify the ADC examination: 

Hepatitis B-Part 2: Treatment and Prevention

Hepatitis B is a potentially life-threatening liver infection caused by the hepatitis B virus (HBV). It can cause chronic infection and puts people at high risk of death from cirrhosis and liver cancer.

In the first part of the article, you have read the epidemiology, mode of transmission of Hepatitis B virus, its sign and symptoms, groups at risk, the relationship of HBV and HIV infection, and how the diagnosis is confirmed. In this part of the article, we shall discuss about its treatment and prevention.

You can also take a free mock test on Hepatitis B.

Hepatitis B: Part 1 - Epidemiology and Clinical Features

Overview 

Hepatitis is an inflammation of the liver that's caused by a variety of contagious viruses and non-infectious agents leading to a range of health problems, some of which can be fatal. There are five main strains of the hepatitis virus, known as types A, B, C, D and E. While their infection results in liver disease, they differ in important ways including modes of transmission, severity of the illness, geographical distribution and prevention methods. 

Particularly types B and C lead to chronic disease in hundreds of millions of people and together are the most common cause of liver cirrhosis, liver cancer and viral hepatitis related deaths. 

An estimated 354 million people worldwide having no access to testing and treatment live with hepatitis B or C. 

Some types of hepatitis are preventable through vaccination. A WHO study found that an estimated 4.5 million premature deaths could be averted in low-and middle- income countries by 2030 through vaccination, individual tests, drugs and education campaigns. WHO’s global hepatitis strategy, championed by all WHO Member States, aims to reduce new hepatitis infections by 90 and deaths by 65 between 2016 and 2030.

Hepatitis B is a potentially life-threatening liver infection caused by the hepatitis B virus (HBV). It can cause chronic infection and puts people at high risk of death from cirrhosis and liver cancer.

In this first part of the article, we shall discuss the following aspects of hepatitis:

1. Epidemiology, 
2. Mode of transmission
3. Sign and symptoms 
4. Groups at risk
5. Relationship of HBV and HIV infection H
6. How to confirm the diagnosis
7. Sample MCQs

Design of a Custom Tray for Final Impression for Complete Denture

The 'custom trays' also known as 'special trays' are fabricated so that the final impression of the patient’s edentulous mouth can be made accurately using selective pressure technique with proper border extensions. The selective pressure technique helps in making the impression in such a way that when the newly fabricated dentures are in function in the mouth of the patient, they exert pressure only on those areas of the mouth that can withstand the masticatory load. The selective pressure technique of impression making spares the non-pressure bearing areas of the edentulous jaw and thus eliminates the possibility of trauma resulting in ulceration and pain in the oral mucosa. 

The special tray is made on the primary cast that has been prepared of plaster of Paris by pouring the primary impression made in alginate or impression compound. The impression taken in impression compound records the mucosa in a compressed state whereas the impression taken with alginate records the mucosa in a non-compressed state. From these two opposite states of mucosal records, a dentist proceeds to prepare a special tray that is used to make an impression with pressure on the mucosa in selected areas. We will learn here as to how to make a special tray on a cast that has been made from impression compound.

Oral Ulcers: Clinical features, Causes & Treatment

Traumatic ulcers in healing stage caused by sharp teeth

An ulcer is a tissue defect which has penetrated the epithelial-connective tissue border, with its base at a deep level in the submucosa, or even within muscle or periosteum. An ulcer is a deeper breach of the epithelium than an erosion or an excoriation, and involves damage to both epithelium and lamina propria.

Books for ADC Examination

The following books have been recommended by Australian Dental Council.

General Dentistry

1. Australian Dental Association Inc. Policy Statement 6.5.1, Code of ethics for dentists.
2. Australian Dental Association, Victorian Branch. By-law 2, Ethics.
3. Fan KFM, Jones J. MCQs in dentistry, 2nd edn. Knutsford, UK: PasTest Ltd, 2010
4. Ireland R, ed. A dictionary of dentistry. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010
5. Mitchell DA, Mitchell L. Oxford handbook of clinical dentistry, 7th ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014

Contact Point/Area of the Teeth

Definition   

The proximal contact points or the area refers to the surface point or area where the proximal surfaces of neighbouring teeth come in contact. Contact point/area is usually found in the occlusal one third of the natural crown of most of the teeth.