An Audit to Assess the Quality and Efficiency of Complete and Partial Dentures Delivered by Junior Hospital Staff

Abstract - The average number of visits for the construction of metal-based and acrylic dentures by junior hospital staff was 10 visits. Our hypothesis was that supervision would optimise the number of visits and reduce any need for remakes. The first audit cycle was retrospective and included all patients treated by SHOs in the Prosthodontics Department. The standard of care was compared to the British Society for the Study of Prosthetic Dentistry. The re-audit showed that the time taken to completion was reduced by 2 visits for both denture types and. the average length of time was reduced from 31 weeks to 22 weeks. These improvements were directly related to improved supervision by senior staff.

KEY WORDS: Audit; Dentures; quality of care; delivery time; partial and complete dentures