A Survey of the Knowledge of Dental Implants as a Choice in Treatment of Edentulous Jaws among Health Workers in Government Dental Clinics in Enugu

BACKGROUND: Dental implantology is fast becoming a specialty in the field of dentistry. Within the last five decades, dentistry appears to have recorded its most significant advancement in the field of dental implantology. With dental implants, missing teeth can now be replaced with stable, comfortable and natural-looking and feeling artificial replacements. Inspite of this lenght of time associated with the innovation, the awareness and practice of dental implantology in the government dental clinics in Enugu is still aground. OBJECTIVES: To determine if health workers in these hospitals were aware of dental implants as a choice for replacing missing teeth. METHODS: The survey was conducted using a random sampling with self-administered questionnaires among health workers in the three health institutions in Enugu between January and February, 2009. RESULTS: Out of 320 respondents in the study, only 31 (9.7%) were aware of dental implant, while 23( 7.2% ) recognised it as a choice in tooth replacement. CONCLUSION: The knowledge of dental implants as a replacement choice for missing dentitions is low among health workers in Enugu.