Assessment of Removable Partial Denture Design Skills among Undergraduate Dental Students: A Cross-sectional Study

There is a growing need for skilled dentists who can offer high-quality treatment for patients who need sophisticated Removable Partial Dentures (RPDs). Therefore, it is essential for undergraduate training programs to ensure that students have the requisite skills and competencies to meet this demand. Aim: This study was conducted to assess the skills of undergraduate dental students in producing clinically effective RPD designs.

A clinical scenario for a patient who required RPD was created. Over the period of two consecutive academic years, from 2022 to 2024, fourth- and sixth-year undergraduate students were invited to participate in the study. The students were instructed to draw the most appropriate design for the case. An answer sheet was prepared to guide the evaluation of the students’ skills in designing RPD frameworks. Descriptive and inferential statistical analyses were computed to assess the distribution of the RPD design scores, and the statistical significance was set at 0.05. The Mann–Whitney U test was used to compare score differences between groups.

A total of 197 undergraduate dental students participated in this study. The descriptive analysis of the RPD design components demonstrated that the majority of students received excellent or satisfactory scores for most RPD design components, with the exception of indirect retention, major connectors, and matching the drawing with writing, where students received ratings that needed improvement, which were 15%, 10%, and 7%, respectively. Female students received higher overall scores than male students, with a statistically significant difference between the two groups (p < 0.001). Moreover, fourth-year students significantly outperformed sixth-year students in their overall scores (p = 0.007).

The undergraduate students were found to have the knowledge and fundamental skills necessary to create basic, clinically effective RPDs. However, students need to study RPD design principles consistently throughout their clinical years. This can be accomplished using contemporary pedagogies for instruction on removable prosthodontics.