The making of a prosthodontist: Advanced prosthodontic education at the University of Southern California

Abstract

F or a system of education to be successful, it must be appropriate to the needs of that civilization. A superb example is the era from 1860 to 1917 which has been termed the “creative” period in higher education-a period in which great progress was made because the development of new patterns and processes in education proceeded at the same pace as the civilization and was appropriate to the new social order. We, as educators, must be cognizant of today’s realities and tomorrow’s needs so that we may provide an enlightened and progressive environment for learning. If we become stagnant and teach the concept of “what was good enough for our fathers, is good enough for us,” we are holding back the clock. Prepaid health insurance programs are here, group practice is on the rise, the use of expanded-duties auxiliaries seems certain, and peer review and quality control committees are already functioning in some states. l Some educators believe that as a result of these changes, the dentist who engages in general practice will assume more of the responsibility that previously has been delegated to the specialist and, in the future, the number of dental specialists will decrease.2 We are all aware of the hazards of overspecialization. One needs only to be reminded of the overspecialized group of engineers who were involved in our space program in the 1960’s. Some of these people are today pumping gasoline or driving taxicabs. Still others are sitting unproductively on their front porches remembering “the good old days.” For prosthodontics to survive as a specialty, I believe that it should not be fragmented into areas such as fixed prosthodontics or removable prosthodontics. In 1969, the Federation of Prosthodontic Organizations3 published its “Guidelines for Advanced Prosthodontic Education.” It was stated that a program should include instruction in all branches of prosthodontics-complete and removable partial denture prosthodontics, fixed prosthodontics, and maxillofacial prosthodontics. The