Knowledge, awareness, and perception of dental students, interns, and freshly graduated dentists regarding dental implant complications in Saudi Arabia: a web-based anonymous survey

BACKGROUND: It is necessary for dental students and freshly graduated dentists to apply their education and practice to different clinical and preclinical procedures. The implant success rate and durability are high. Therefore, this study was designed to assess the level of knowledge, awareness and perception of dental students, interns and freshly graduated students regarding dental implant complications in Saudi Arabia. METHODS: A cross-sectional study design using a web-based method was conducted at different dental institutions in Saudi Arabia from December 2019 to March 2020. Data were collected from all (n = 288) undergraduate students, interns and freshly graduated dentists using a pretested standardized self-administered web-based questionnaire that was prepared and circulated using a template provided by Google Forms (Google, Inc., USA). Descriptive statistics and chi-square tests were performed to analyse the data using SPSS (version 20). RESULTS: A total of 288 participants completed the questionnaire, with a response rate of 83.4%. Of the total participants, 37.5% showed a good level of knowledge regarding dental implant procedures, and 38.9% showed the same level of knowledge regarding implant complications. The most important cause of complications associated with dental implants was case selection, which accounted for 54.17%. Most participants (58.33%) chose massive bone loss related to implant failure as the most common late dental complication, while 26.39% chose postoperative infection as the most common early dental complication. In addition, 30.56% of the participants selected screw loosening as the most frequent mechanical complication. However, lack of implant primary stability was the most common hard-tissue implant complication. Based on aesthetic and reversible complications, restorations that were too buccal or too palatal and prosthetic-related, respectively, were the least common dental implant complications. CONCLUSIONS: The level of knowledge among participants regarding dental implant complications differed among the institutions participating in this study. This difference reflects a significant variation that necessitates reviewing and standardizing dental implant curricula among these institutions. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12903-021-01506-2.