Teaching of posterior composite restorations in Japanese dental schools

Aim: This study was conducted to assess the teaching programmes for Class I and II composite restorations in Japanese dental schools to obtain an over view of what is being taught, the relative teaching volume, the criteria fo r the provision of posterior composite restorations and the placement techn iques taught. Design: Questionnaire forms mailed to the operative dentistry teaching departments in all 29 Japanese dental schools. Results: The respo nse rate was 93 per cent, with replies from 27 of the 29 dental schools. Tw enty-five (93 per cent) responding schools taught the use of Class I and tw o schools stated that they did not teach the use of posterior composite res torations. One of the two schools had no plan to teach posterior composites within the next five years. The other school did not answer this question. Most schools anticipated that the proportion of teaching time devoted to p osterior composite restorations would increase within the next five years. Diversities and similarities between teaching programmes were noted between Japanese, North American and European dental schools, the Japanese program mes being closer to those in Europe than those in North America. Conclusion : The diversities in the teaching of posterior composite restorations in Ja panese dental schools are as great as in other parts of the world. Such div ersities must affect the overall quality of restorations in general practic e.