Prosthodontic laboratory and curriculum survey. Part III: Fixed prosthodontic laboratory survey.

A questionnaire was mailed to 488 dental laboratories in five midwestern states. One hundred ninety (39%) of the questionnaires were returned. The purposes of the survey were (1) to discern what fixed prosthodontic techniques were most frequently used by practicing dentists, (2) to provide insight into the laboratory technician's perception of the quality of fixed prosthodontic care, (3) to point out problems in dentist/technician interaction, and (4) to indicate areas of undergraduate fixed prosthodontic education that may need revision. Results indicate that dentists are using techniques that require a minimum of appointment time and are delegating a great portion of their responsibilities for fixed prosthodontic procedures to the laboratory technician. Dentist/technician interaction is a significant problem, and from the technician's point of view the quality of fixed prosthodontic care provided by the average practicing dentist is marginal at best.