Knowledge and attitude to dental implant placement amongst a group of Nigerian dentist.

BACKGROUND

The perceptions and experiences of dentists from different specialties on the use of dental implant and its applications can be instrumental in its use exhaustively.

OBJECTIVES

To determine the opinions and experiences of a population of Nigerian dentists towards dental implant.

METHODS

Data for the study were collated using a self-administered questionnaire. The questionnaire assessed the familiarity of the participants with various implant systems, their designs, sizes and loading as well as the provision of replacement for missing teeth.

RESULT: The estimated functional life of an implant was reported to be less than 5 years by 2.5% of the respondents; 5 to 10 years by 11.3% of the respondents; 10 to 20 years by 26.3% and more than 20 years by 28.7% of the respondents while 31.3% had no idea about the estimated functional life of an implant. Exposure and experience with dental implants were low as only 30.0% of the respondents had attended any dental implant course/training with 95.0% of the respondents expressing the opinion that they did not have enough training in dental implantology.

CONCLUSION

The exposure and experience with dental implants was low among the respondents.