Assessment of General Dentists' Knowledge and Confidence towards Dental Implants and their Perceptions regarding Undergraduate Education

Background: Dentists are the primary sources of information regarding dental implants. Thus, they are required to be knowledgeable to meet patients' expectations. Objective: This cross-sectional study aims to evaluate dentists' knowledge and confidence in dental implants and investigate their perceptions regarding their undergraduate education. Methods: The study utilized a voluntary anonymous questionnaire, distributed among dentists, and graduates of King Abdulaziz University, Faculty of Dentistry, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The questionnaire sections were: demographics, perception regarding undergraduate education, confidence, and knowledge assessment. Descriptive statistics and Chi-square test at a statistical significance of P-value <0.05 were conducted. Results: The majority 75.5% reported sufficient theoretical information regarding implant dentistry during undergraduate education. However, only 12.2% reported sufficient clinical education. Limited participants had the chance to practice implant dentistry. About half of the participants 44.9% wished they were given this opportunity. Participants' confidence in different procedures ranged between 45.9% and 82.6%. Survey participants reported adequate knowledge in treatment planning 82.7%, in prosthetics 92.9%, and 79.6% in surgical aspects. No association was found between gender and knowledge sections, treatment planning, prosthetic, and surgical aspects of implant dentistry. Respective P-values were 0.45, 0.14, and 0.09. Conclusion: Participants were interested to obtain more clinical experience in implant dentistry during undergraduate education. Thus, adjustments are suggested to optimize the quality of education to meet graduates' expectations.