Title : People knowledge and opinion about getting dental implant with other conventional treatment modalities in Herat city habitants, Afghanistan
Abstract:
Introduction: People's understanding about dental implants and their knowledge is essential for translation into improved clinical care. Despite the rapid development of dentistry and improvements in general oral health care, tooth loss is still a significant problem among older people and individuals compromised by certain medical conditions and the general population.
Aim and purpose: To the best of the authors’ knowledge, there is no existing dental literature regarding the patients’ awareness, expectations, and level of Knowledge about dental implants in Afghanistan. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the dental patients’ understanding, expectations, and status of dental implants compared with other treatment modalities as a treatment option for replacing missing teeth among a selected sample of Herat urban habitants in Herat, Afghanistan.
Materials and Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was done on the randomly selected 420 Heart city habitants over one month, from May to June 2021, to access the knowledge and opinion of Herat city habitants toward dental implants as an option for replacing missing teeth. An organized questionnaire collected the data with open questions and a direct introduction and demonstration of a short animation about the dental implant procedure. The data were categorized by similar answers, interred, and analyzed with IBM-SPSS version 25.
Results: Among the 420 participants in this study, 67.9% of respondents heard about dental implants, and 28.6% had information about dental implant surgical procedures. The more prominent source of their information was medical staff 35%, family and friends 29.6% and TV 21.4%. Among all participants, 59% preferred dental implants for their missing teeth replacement, and 3.8% received dental implants before. Out of all participants, 61% had trusted dental implant treatment in Afghanistan, and the common reason was well-experienced doctors 97.7%. Among all participants, 6.2% believed dental implant has a religious restriction, 11.4% thought it cause health issues. Gender had a significant role in the preference of treatment options for replacing missing teeth
(p = 0.023). Education significantly had influenced the information about surgical procedures of dental implants (p = 0.007), knowledge about dental implants (p = 0.004), and priority of dental implants for missing teeth replacement (p < 0.05). The occupation and preference for missing teeth were not significant (p = 0.161). The people heard about dental implant had a significant opinion about dental implant survival rate (p < 0.05) and surgical procedure (p < 0.05). Among all participants, most of the young population believed there is no religious restriction with the dental implant than the old one (p < 0.05).
Conclusion: The survey concluded an unacceptable level of awareness regarding using dental implants as a treatment option for replacing missing teeth. Medical staff, family, and friends being the main source of information. The level of education has an essential role in knowledge and awareness about dental implants.
