Patients' knowledge and awareness of dental implants in a Turkish subpopulation

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the patients' knowledge on dental implants in a Turkish subpopulation. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Five hundred twenty seven Turkish adults referred to Yeditepe University Faculty of Dentistry, Istanbul, Turkey, were presented with a questionnaire including 20 questions regarding the level of information and awareness about the dental implants. The data were collected and statistical analyses were performed with Chi square test to compare the descriptive data. RESULTS: Among 527 subjects, 54% were female and 46% were male with a mean age of 42.2 years. The rate of patients' implant awareness was 27.7%. When the patients were questioned about the treatment options for rehabilitation of tooth missing, 60.9% of patients were informed about fixed partial denture, followed by conventional complete denture (32.5%) and removable partial denture (24.9%). Six percent reported that they were very well informed about the dental implants whereas 48.2% were poorly informed. The information sources of the implants were from the dentist (44.5%), printed media (31.6%) and friends and acquaintances (17.3%), respectively. Sixteen percent of the population believed that their implants would last forever. CONCLUSION: The dentists should give more detailed information to the patients about dental implants and tooth-supported fixed partial dentures in the future.