Patients’ Expectations to Dental Implant: A Systematic Review

Objective: To systematically review the literature relating to patients’ expectation of dental implants. Specifically to investigate study types, quality of studies, and methods used to assess patients’ expectations. Methods: A structured literature search of four databases - Pubmed, Cochrane, Web of Science and PsychINFO was conducted following PRISMA guidelines. Any type of literature published in English discussing the topic of ‘patients expectations’ in oral health were identified and further screened. Studies reporting on expectations regarding dental implants were selected to form this review and a narrative review was conducted. Results: The initial search yielded 16707 studies, 1051 ‘potentially effective studies’ and 41 ‘effective studies’ [Kappa=0.76]. Ten observational studies, published from 1999 to 2013, and were concerned specifically with expectations of dental implants. There was a large degree of heterogeneity among studies in terms of assessment instruments.  Expectations relating to aesthetics and function were primarily considered. Among the 10 studies, 8 were classified as quantitative research and 2 as qualitative research. The STROBE quality of reporting scores of the studies ranged from 13.5 to 18.0.  Three of the 8 quantitative studies employed a before/after study design (prospective studies) and used visual analogue scales (VAS) to measure patient expectations. Conclusions: There is a growing interest in patients’ expectations of dental implants. Most studies are cross sectional in nature and the quality of reporting varies considerably.  Expectations with respect to aesthetics and function are key attributes considered. The use of visual analogue scales (VAS) provides quantitative assessments of patients’ expectations but the lack of standardization of measures prohibits meta- analyses.