Prosthodontic treatment modalities are evolving as the demographics are moving towards an aging population; Dental implantology is now widely accepted and well established as the prosthodontic treatment option for missing dentition. Population surveys have revealed that there will be a dramatically need for rehabilitating the elders.1 This trend would lead to increased prevalence of partially edentulous patients and decrease in total quantity of completely edentulous patients2,3 so the current trend for rehabilitation would possibly involve dental implants. Studies conducted in early 1990's have shown that a number of students in the US have been exposed to dental implantology in the prescribed curriculum4,5,6,7,8,9.
Undergraduate …show more content…
All the clinical students were given a brief introduction as to the background, scope of the study, and the points to consider when answering the questionnaire. Students were asked to sign the consent before answering the questionnaire. The respondents were asked to go through the questions sequentially and circle the relevant/most appropriate answer. The questionnaire comprise of questions regarding need for including the theory and practice of Dental Implantology in Undergraduate curriculum. The questions (no - 8) need for advanced courses were included in the survey so as to gauge the aptitude of the students for conducting future programs. The comparative need for implants as treatment option V B was included in the survey. As economics is the major limiting factor in implants, it was included. The questionnaire contained two options only to be marked by the respondent. The questions were briefly explained to the students, thus ensuring 100% response. All return surveys were assigned the control number and entered in excel VB format. After the data was entered the author reviewed the entries to check for the accuracy of