A Comparative and a Qualitative Analysis of Patient’s Motivations, Expectations and Satisfaction with Dental Implants

Abstract

Introduction: Dental Implants are the norm of today’s prosthetic and restorative dentistry but, is it the answer for edentulism that can affect both individual’s appearance and functioning, therefore having an impact on the psychological and the social well being of the person is an ongoing quest. Also, patient’s beliefs and personal expectations for dental implants vary, which may influence the treatment outcome, thus emphasizing the importance of a good clinician–patient communication. Hence in this study a qualitative analysis was carried out with an earnest attempt to gain an insight into patient’s motivations, personal expectations, satisfaction and impact of clinician’s motivation for implant maintenance. Aim: To learn about patient’s expectations and their level of satisfaction from dental implants. To know the impact of clinician’s instructions and motivation for implant maintenance, with the patient’s level of understanding and compare the level of motivation for implant maintenance and care provided by a dentist with Bachelor’s degree to a dentist with a Master’s degree. Materials and Methods: A 30 systemically healthy patients who had undergone implant treatment (aged 25-65 years) were considered and divided into two groups: Group A: 15 patients in whom implant placement was done by a dentist with Bachelor’s degree (24 years, 18 years in general and implant practice respectively) and Group B: 15 patients in whom implant placement was done by a dentist with a Master’s degree (Periodontics; 20 years,17 years in general and implant practice respectively). A qualitative analysis with the help of appropriate questionnaires comprising of multiple choice questions specifically designed for this purpose and few open ended questions was carried out with an earnest attempt to gain an insight into patient’s motivations, personal expectations, satisfaction and impact of clinician’s motivation for implant maintenance. Results: Patients motivations for seeking implants and their expectations of treatment differed. Dental implants had met the patient’s pre-treatment expectations and they were satisfied. Variations in the knowledge on the maintenance of the implants by the patients and the kind of maintenance care provided by the dentists varied between the two groups. Conclusion: In regard to the patient’s compliance towards dental implants, a clinician must ensure that patient's understand the different demands.

Keywords

• communication
• dental implantology
• personal satisfaction
• surveys and questionnaires
• treatment outcome