Patients’ Cognition of Dental Implant Treatment

―A Questionnaire Survey of the Patients Who Were Desirous of the Treatment―

Abstract

Monthly explanation meetings on dental implant treatment for patients are held at the Dental Hospital of Nihon University, School of Dentistry, Matsudo. In the meetings, questionnaires are handed out to investigate the patients' knowledge of dental implants who desire implants. In this paper, the outline of the meetings and the results of the questionnaires are reported. The results were as follows
1. Patients had usually obtained information on dental implants through mass media and from acquaintances and/or their families.
2. Patients, when not satisfied with their dentures, showed a tendency to place their hope on the implant.
3. Patients did not have much knowledge of indication and/or contraindication.
4. Most of the patients expected the implant to be more durable than the doctors did.
Patients' knowledge of implant treatment was generally low. The explanation meeting itself was very effective to educate those patients. It was reconfirmed that the operators themselves should give the patients sufficient explanation about the treatment and as a matter of course should operate with sufficient “informed consent.”