Knowledge and Awareness Regarding Dental Implants among Patients Attending a Tertiary Care Center

INTRODUCTION: Loss of natural teeth is a debilitating and irreversible process, which leads to functional, cosmetic and psychological morbidities. Dental implant serves as one of the options of tooth replacement, which are stronger, functionally effective and more durable. However, public awareness regarding it has been found to be low in Asian countries. This study was designed to know the status of knowledge and awareness of dental implant. METHODS: Seventy nine patients visiting dental department of Patan Academy of Health Sciences were included in this study through non-probability sampling. Data on knowledge and awareness regarding dental implants were collected through a survey after ethical approval from Institutional Review committee of Patan Academy of Health Sciences. Data entry was done in Epidata and analyzed with the help of Statistical Package of Social Sciences version 20. RESULTS: Total 33 (41.8%) of study populations choose dental implant as alternative for replacing teeth, 22 (30.4%) choose fixed dental prosthesis. 36 (45.6%) and 32 (40.5%) of population stated that long treatment time and high cost respectively as the disadvantages of dental implants. Only 12 (15.2%) were aware that dental implants are anchored in jaw bone. The source of information about dental implants was dentists for 48 (60.8%) of the patients followed by friends, media and medical doctors. CONCLUSIONS: Within the limitations of this study, we conclude that awareness of patients attending tertiary care center of Kathmandu valley is low. Hence, there is a need of organizing dental education programs to create awareness about dental implants.