Elderly Patients' Knowledge regarding Dental Implants

Method:

This, questionnaire based study, included 301 CRDP wearers from elderly care homes with average age of 74 years. The questionnaire was designed for the purpose of this study and consisted of two sections; first section included questions giving general information, and in second section were 12 questions evaluating patients’ knowledge of DIs. The results obtained were statistically analyzed (independent sample Student’s t-test, χ² test, ANOVA, Scheffe, p<0.05).

Result:

Knowledge of DIs was statistically significant (p<0.05) affected by the participants’ age, residence place size, and the level of education. The majority of participants younger than 65 years had heard about DIs (88.1%, p<0.05) and believed in their retaining capability for CRDP (74.6%, p<0.05). Among participants coming from smaller places with up to 10,000 inhabitants there were more of them who did not hear about DIs (59.4%, p<0.05), and among participants with completed college/university or high school education there was a higher number of participants who had heard about DIs (82.4%, p<0.05). Female participants (139, 71.2%) were more afraid of the DIs placement procedure (p<0.05).

Conclusion: Age, level of education, and residence place size are factors affecting the patients’ knowledge and awareness of DIs. Although more than a half of all the participants had heard of DIs, awareness of DI insertion procedure, advantages, and costs of such a treatment was insufficient in study participants. Obtained results urge the need for better education and the provision of proper information to elderly people about DIs and implant treatment options.