Dental implants as tooth replacement option among patients in government hospitals Lagos, South-West Nigeria

Objective: To assess awareness of dental implant as a treatment option, among patients requiring replacement of missing teeth in government hospitals in Lagos Nigeria. Methodology: This cross-sectional study was carried out among subjects attending dental clinics in government hospitals using an interviewer-administered questionnaire. The structured questionnaire included information on educational background, source of knowledge of implants and willingness to have implants as a treatment option for replacing their missing teeth. The Chi-square test of association was used where appropriate. The difference was taken as significant at an alpha level of P Results: A total of 425 subjects were surveyed, 49.2% males and 50.8% females, the mean was 35.87 ±14.07) years. Awareness of dental implant was indicated by 20.2% of the participants. Knowledge about implants among those aware showed 36% did not know where implants are placed while 35 (40.7%) were not willing to have implant placements. Cost (48.6%) and fear of surgical procedure (40%) were among reasons given for not wanting implants placement. Dentists formed the major (38.6%) source of information on implants. There was a significant increase in the knowledge of implants with increased level of education ( P = 0.00). Conclusion: Awareness and knowledge about dental implant among the population studied were low. Majority of them displayed incomplete and incorrect information. There is a need for dental education on the merits of implant placement and patients must be able to access accurate information from the dentist and other modes of spreading information.