Prosthodontics Students Take Top Award for Research

 

Prosthodontics residents Dr. David Kim and Dr. Nupur Patel, who took first place for their research poster presentation, with Dr. Kenneth Kent and Dr. Brian Chang, both faculty in the prosthodontics postgraduate program.

Philadelphia – Two students within Penn Dental Medicine’s postgraduate prosthodontics program – Dr. Nupur Patel (GD’21) and Dr. David Kim (GD’21) — were recently recognized for their research, taking first place in the poster competition at the American Academy of Maxillofacial Prosthetics 66th Annual Meeting, held in Miami, October 26-29.

Their collaborative study was titled Biomechanical Considerations for Prosthetic Reconstruction of Acquired Mandibular Defects with Free Fibula Flap: Systematic Analysis and was conducted with faculty mentors Dr. Eva Anadioti, Director of the Postgraduate Prosthodontics Program, and Dr. Brian Chang, Associate Professor of Clinical Restorative Dentistry and of Clinical Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery.

“We are so proud that Drs. Patel and Kim received recognition for their great work,” says Dr. Anadioti. “This study helps to illuminate treatment options and outcomes.”

In their project, clinical studies were reviewed to compare the different methods of fibula free flap for reconstruction of acquired mandibular defects, including single barrel and double barrel techniques. The review found that both techniques have limitations and benefits and no technique is significantly better than the other. The implant survival rates were similar in both types of flaps. Their findings concluded that vascularized fibula free flap remains a versatile treatment option for treatment of segmental mandibular defects, noting that more research is required to provide more evidence about biomechanical and prosthetic considerations.