CDC Patient Assessment & Documentation 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A patient's record indicates a 'Class II centric relation to centric occlusion slide of 2 mm.' What should a ceramist note about this finding?
- It suggests the patient has no usable occlusal stops
- Restorations may need to accommodate a CO-CR discrepancy, potentially requiring articulator-mounted casts in CR (Correct answer)
- It means the patient has an anterior open bite
- It indicates the patient's vertical dimension must be increased by 2 mm
Correct answer: Restorations may need to accommodate a CO-CR discrepancy, potentially requiring articulator-mounted casts in CR
A significant CR-CO slide means casts should be mounted in centric relation to ensure restorations are fabricated in the correct jaw position.
Question 2: Which patient factor documented in the medical history is most likely to affect the color stability of ceramic restorations over time?
- History of orthopedic surgery
- Regular consumption of chromogenic foods and beverages and tobacco use (Correct answer)
- Controlled hypertension managed with beta-blockers
- History of seasonal allergies
Correct answer: Regular consumption of chromogenic foods and beverages and tobacco use
Chromogenic dietary habits and tobacco use can stain ceramic surfaces, particularly affecting glazed surfaces or any surface roughness over time.
Question 3: Documentation shows the patient has a 'narrow biologic width' with only 1 mm of attached gingiva. This affects ceramist planning by:
- Requiring a high-fusing porcelain system
- Influencing subgingival margin depth and emergence profile design to avoid tissue inflammation (Correct answer)
- Necessitating use of gold-based alloys only
- Requiring a longer occlusal contact zone
Correct answer: Influencing subgingival margin depth and emergence profile design to avoid tissue inflammation
Narrow attached gingiva means the ceramist must design a physiologic emergence profile that avoids impinging on the biologic width.
Question 4: On a lab prescription, the dentist notes 'open contacts in the posterior sextants.' How does this affect the ceramist's approach?
- It means the ceramist should reduce ceramic thickness in those areas
- The ceramist should note this but contact points must be established on the new restoration (Correct answer)
- It indicates the patient needs orthodontic treatment before ceramics can proceed
- It has no bearing on ceramic fabrication
Correct answer: The ceramist should note this but contact points must be established on the new restoration
Open contacts documented elsewhere alert the ceramist to ensure the new restoration establishes appropriate proximal contacts to prevent food impaction.
Question 5: What is the purpose of documenting the patient's Frankfort horizontal plane in cephalometric records?
- To measure the patient's maximum mouth opening
- To serve as a reference plane for evaluating facial proportions and tooth position (Correct answer)
- To identify the location of the mental foramen
- To determine crown-to-root ratio of posterior teeth
Correct answer: To serve as a reference plane for evaluating facial proportions and tooth position
The Frankfort horizontal plane is a standard craniofacial reference used to assess facial balance and incisal plane orientation.
Question 6: A patient assessment notes 'knife-edge ridge in the mandibular posterior region.' For a ceramist fabricating an implant-supported restoration, this means:
- No special modifications are needed
- Ridge contour affects pontic or implant crown emergence profile design and flange form (Correct answer)
- The ceramist should refuse the case
- A metal substructure is mandatory
Correct answer: Ridge contour affects pontic or implant crown emergence profile design and flange form
A knife-edge ridge requires careful pontic or implant crown design to achieve proper tissue contact, cleansibility, and esthetic tissue drape.
Question 7: Which document must accompany a dental laboratory prescription for HIPAA compliance in the United States?
- A signed release of information allowing the lab to contact the patient directly
- A Business Associate Agreement (BAA) between the dental office and the laboratory (Correct answer)
- A copy of the patient's full medical history
- The patient's social security number for lab billing
Correct answer: A Business Associate Agreement (BAA) between the dental office and the laboratory
HIPAA requires a Business Associate Agreement between the dental practice and any dental laboratory that handles protected health information.
CDC Patient Assessment & Documentation 3
A patient's record indicates a 'Class II centric relation to centric occlusion slide of 2 mm.' What should a ceramist note about this finding?