About - Appropriatech

Appropriatech is a word coined from ‘Appropriate technology’ and is used to describe a philosophy of using cost-effective materials and methods, but maintaining high quality outcomes.

It was originally coined in the field of Prosthodontics (a specialty branch of dentistry which replaces anything that’s missing from the neck up), but can be applied to anything where ‘high-tech’ has come to be equated with high cost.

A good example of the opposite of this philosophy is the use of osseo-integrated implants, which have transformed oral rehabilitation, but only for those few who can afford it (estimated at about no more than 0.1% of the world’s population).

For those unfortunate enough to be edentulous (having no teeth), and unable to afford implant-supported prostheses, the only alternative is mucosa-borne (‘conventional’) complete dentures, and even these are often out of the reach of many, mainly because of cost but also because of lack of services.

Where services are available, in the private sector it often means that dental practitioners are forced to cut corners to keep costs down, and this often means a huge loss of quality. The philosophy of appropriatech aims to reduce the costs but not the quality.

Similarly, those who are partially edentulous, but who cannot afford things like crowns and bridges (fixed partial dentures) have the alternative of removable partial dentures, but these too can be expensive, depending on the materials used.

The cheapest form are those made entirely from acrylic resin, but very many dentists either regard these as temporary, or make them to rest entirely on the mucosa (soft tissues and gums) , producing dentures referred to as “gum strippers” for obvious reasons. They don’t have to be and two basic appropriatech modifications can turn these into permanent appliances.

So what we have done, is produce a variety of learning materials, but not just on appropriatech. The material on appropriatech is mainly a book on the fundamentals of removable partial dentures and the techniques for making and delivering complete dentures in 3 visits.

But in addition, there are many teaching modules, which both students and dental practitioners have found very useful, which have been developed over many years, and which have used methods which are easy to learn and use.

Unfortunately they’re not free (unless you cheat and share the material) but what you also get is an opportunity to ask questions about the material which will be answered by experts.