Implementing a new curriculum for computer-assisted restorations in prosthetic dentistry.

Introduction: Computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing (CAD/CAM) of fixed prosthetic restorations has gained popularity in the last decade. However, this field of dentistry has not been integrated in the dental curriculum at most universities.

Material And Methods: According to the method of Kern, a curriculum was designed and established on a voluntary basis in the prosthetic education of a German dental school. The success of the implementation was measured by evaluation carried out by the participants on a visual analogue scale. Furthermore, the clinical performance of the fabricated restorations was evaluated.

Results: Ninety-four percent of all students participated in the CAD/CAM curriculum indicating considerable interest. Nearly half of all students used the acquired knowledge to design crowns for their patients. All restorations fabricated by participants of the new CAD/CAM programme showed good clinical performance.

Discussion: By phasing-in the CAD/CAM training programme, independent CAD/CAM-based fabrication of all-ceramic crowns increased student's self-confidence in tooth preparation. A tendency was found that students using CAD/CAM technology prepared more teeth than their fellow students who did not use CAD/CAM technology. Further studies are required to investigate the influence of independent CAD/CAM-based single-crown fabrication on the quality of the preparation.