Ive been reading some editorials from the Journal of Operative Dentistry. It is published by a certain segment of concerned dental school faculty. There seems to be a consensus amongst its members that dental schools have lowered restorative operating expectations for its graduates. For example, they state that the students are not being discouraged from resorting to full crowns when partial gold restorations would be just as effective while conserving more of the original tooth. Their theory for much of the cause of the perceived curriculum degredation is that the influential faculty positions within the dental schools have become dominated by members of the science and specialty departments. The restorative departments have taken a back seat as far a influencing school policy is concerned and are forced to rely more and more on adjunct faculty rather than being alloted full time professor positions to teach restorative and operative dentisty at a level of excellence. Dr Jeff or any others out there. What do you make of their position?
After the anguish and uncertainty of cutting inlay and onlay preps during operative last year and subsequently casting them, I could see why lots of my classmates are praying they never have to cut one in clinic. But some of our professors in clinic still encourage them - one of my classmates has began a molar onlay prep on a patient - and that is his first EVER operative experience on a patient! (After hearing that, I feel very lucky that my first was a class I resin). I personally don't think an onlay is such a bad idea - my molar could use an onlay rather than a crown, but I need to find a dentist that can competenly do it. I think I'm a little more weary of the inlay and don't trust it as much. But our school's productivity tracking system in clinic makes students seek the teachers who will treatment plan a crown with them b/c you get more points for doing a crown rather than the onlay - and they take the same amount of time, effort, lab work, and appointments. They no longer teach gold foil at our school - will the onlay/inlay be the next to go? GV Black was a great man, but maybe the operative departments need to rethink their procedures, materials, and curriculums and update them for the 2000s.
