Abstract
Background: The occlusion of a complete dental arch is generally desirable, however, the dentist should consider what minimum number of teeth is required for functioning and esthetic demand. The aim of this study was to investigate dentists awareness and opinion of the short dental arch (SDA) concept in west of Libya. Methods: Aself-adminstrated voluntary questionnaire was set to be answered by dentists, randomly selected among dentists working in west of Tripoli, Libya. The information collected included awareness of the SDA concept and its application as a treatment option. Result: A majority of respondents (73.75%) were not aware of the SDA concept. Almost all of them do not known the SDA concept means. The minority (21.25%) believed that the concept is useful in clinical application. Dentists with <5 years of experiences were more awareness to SDA concept. Conclusion: Most dentists and specialists who respond to this study were unaware to SDA concept, and it's one of the useful treatment option in treating older patient with missing posterior teeth. Kewwords: shortened dental arch, oral function, dentists awareness.