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Although Dr Milus M. House is credited with devising a method to describe the mental classification of complete denture patients, a review of the literature raises questions regarding the origin of the system. Dr Ewell Neil should have received credit for developing the classification system attributed to Dr House. The contribution of Dr House appears to be a detailed expansion of the classification and the subsequent popularization of the system.
KEY WORDS
M. M. House
Ewell Neil
Classification system
Complete denture patients
The House classification of complete denture patients has been available to the dental profession from early in the last century and is used to the present day. Advanced education students in prosthodontics, along with undergraduate dental students, have been taught and perhaps questioned about this system on oral and written examinations. The classification system has been cited on numerous occasions in the literature, dental textbooks, and presentations before dental societies and prosthodontic specialty groups. The classification system is based on how patients react to the thought of becoming edentulous and how they adapt to complete dentures. Although attributed to Dr Milus M. House, the origin of this classification system can be questioned.
The House classification system is described in detail in a chapter by S. Howard Payne1 in John J. Sharry's textbook Complete Denture Prosthodontics. Payne attributes the classification to unpublished notes of "Study Club No. 1" on "Full Denture Technique" in 1937. Rahn and Heartwell2 list the classification in their textbook and footnote the narrative with "Lecture by M. M. House." Craddock3 mentions the classification system in his textbook but provides no reference. Landa4 briefly mentions the classification system in his textbook but does not credit anyone with its origin.
In an article published in 2003 in the Journal of Prosthetic Dentistry, Gamer et al5 credit Dr House with devising the classification system in 1950. Their reference is from Classic Prosthodontic Articles, volume III, published by the American College of Prosthodontists.6 The source of the classification...