Honors Program Theses

Award/Availability

Honors Program Thesis (UNI Access Only)

First Advisor

Darrell Wiens

Keywords

Dentistry, Operative--Forecasting; Dentists--Iowa--Attitudes;

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to forecast trends and gather insight into current trends in restorative dentistry. This knowledge can be then used to identify treatment goals and corresponding properties of restorative materials. Using an Internet-based survey method, a selection of 19 dentists and specialists focusing in restorative and preventive dentistry were issued a survey centering around 8 key questions. The 19 dentists rated the items developed using a Likert scale. For all questions and the respective items, the experts were asked to evaluate the importance and the feasibility for later calculation of the scientific value (i.e. the opportunity, where opportunity = importance + [importance − feasibility]). The results of the 8 key questions were significant, but the focus of the results centered on Question 1 (Q1) and Question 6 (Q6). The three items of highest importance for Q1 were “preservation of existing enamel and dentin tissue,” “prevention of secondary caries,” and “maintenance of the pulp vitality,” and for Q6 they were “optimization of adhesion,” “biocompatibility,” and “minimizing technical sensitivity.” This information indicates a trend in restorative dentistry. Bioactivity toward the pulp-dentin complex and prevention of secondary caries were the items generally rated as having the highest opportunity.

Year of Submission

2015

Department

Department of Biology

University Honors Designation

A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the designation University Honors

Date Original

2015

Object Description

1 PDF file (34 pages)

Language

EN

File Format

application/pdf

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