Journal of Medical Implants & Surgery
Open Access

Public Awareness and Perception of Dental Implants in Randomly Se- lected Sample in Kuwait

Background: The growing success of dental implants
has made this treatment mode increasingly more
popular for the replacement of missing teeth. The
aim of this study was to assess public awareness and
determine patient’s expectations concerning dental
implants through requisite information on treatment

mode, prior to presenting for professional consulta-
tion on dental implant, as a treatment option. Ma-
terials and methods: In a cross-sectional survey, 527

adult participants were interviewed, through ran-
dom selection from attendance at public places. A

structured questionnaire, with multiple-choice ques-
tions, was used to obtain the participants’ level of

knowledge on dental implants, including the source
of information on which they based this knowledge,

their reasons to accept or reject dental implant treat-
ment, as well as their understanding of the proce-
dures involved. Results: In all, (96.4%) of participants

had heard of dental implants, and (79.2%) were will-
ing to learn more about dental implants. Almost,

two-third (64.9%) of the respondents thought den-
tal implant to be the healthiest treatment mode for

missing teeth. Maximum (33.9%) participants gath-
ered dental implants information through media,

followed by friends or social gatherings (24%), den-
tal clinics (23.3%), and family (18.8%). Significantly

more females than males, and more Kuwaitis than
non-Kuwaitis expressed, ‘Good looking’, the reason

for acceptance for dental implants (p<0.05). Conclu-
sion: This study revealed a high level of awareness

among public, but lack of knowledge on procedural

aspects. The study also revealed the need for spe-
cialists in this field to spread awareness and relevant

information concerning dental implants among the
general public.

Introduction: Dental implant is increasingly be-
coming a widely accepted treatment approach in

dentistry for the replacement of missing teeth. The
success and good prognosis of this treatment has
made it very popular among the dentists, offering
implant-supported rehabilitation to patients having
lost teeth, or those with severely compromised bone
structure [1-5]. Though oral reconstruction has been

going on since late 1950s with the intra-oral use of ti-
tanium implants, the public perception of this mode

of treatment has largely remained unmeasured,
despite reported improvements in patients treated
with implant-supported prosthesis. Several studies

from different countries do report the level of pa-
tients’ understanding and awareness concerning oral

implants [6-13]. However, in Kuwait, dental implant

treatment is relatively a new field, hence, public per-
ception of this treatment has never been studied.

Being a novel approach, and a surgical intervention,

public invariably remains apprehensive of the associ-
ated complications, despite the potential benefits of

this treatment regimen in tooth-restoration, improv-
ing patients aesthetics, self-confidence and quality

of life.
From clinicians’ experiences in Kuwait, the suggested
option of dental implant for replacing missing tooth
is often met with reluctance among patients, fearful

of surgical outcomes. The basis of our study is inher-
ent in this widespread hesitancy and fear syndrome

among the public, making it imperative to probe the

extent of public perception and awareness concern-
ing the dental implant treatment in Kuwait. The study

is first of its kind, and expected to generate baseline

data for mapping a strategy for orienting and educat-
ing the public on the positive implications of this field

of dentistry in Kuwait, in addition to contributing to
existing knowledge in the field from this part of the
world.
Vast literature exists in the field of dental implants,
covering various aspects of this treatment approach,
including treatment planning, surgical placement,

survival rate, success rate, patient-satisfaction con-
cerning the treatment outcome, etc. [14-21]. Yet,

few studies have reportedly been attempted on the

patients’ perception of the surgical procedures asso-
ciated with dental implant placement. The aim of this

study was to assess public awareness, determine pa-
tients’ expectations, and enhance their understand-
ing of procedural implications through requisite in-
formation about dental implants, prior to presenting

for professional consultation on dental implant as a
treatment option [22,23].
Materials and Methods
A cross-sectional survey, among 527 participants was
conducted in the general public through personal
interviews utilizing a structured questionnaire with
multiple-choice questions, during a period of four

months - Oct 2014 to Jan 2015. The targeted sub-
jects were randomly selected from attendance at

local malls, supermarket and food convention open
for the general public. The questionnaire included
personal data, level of education, and a brief dental
history. The questions were intended to solicit the
level of participants’ knowledge concerning dental
implants, and the source of information on which
they based this knowledge. All the four interviewers

in the survey had dental background, and the ques-
tionnaire was both in Arabic and English, used as per

the subject language preference.
Statistical analysis

The data management, analysis and graphical pre-
sentation were carried out using the computer soft-
ware ‘Statistical Package for Social Sciences, SPSS

version 22.0’ (IBM Corp, Armonk, NY, USA). The de-
scriptive statistics has been presented as number

and percentage for categorical variables, and mean
± standard deviation (SD) for continuous variable,
age. Chi-square or normal Z-test, for comparing two
proportions, was applied to find any association or
significant difference between categorical variables.
The two-tailed probability value ‘p’
Acceptance or refusal to dental implant treatment

Of the total respondents, 74.6% enlisted their accep-
tance of the dental implant treatment, 20.8% were

not receptive to this treatment mode, and 4.6% did
not respond. More females than males (81% vs. 75%)
and more Kuwaitis than non-Kuwaitis (80% vs. 76%),
showed their willingness for dental implants.
Perception towards dental implants
Placement: Almost two-third of the respondents
(64.6%) considered implant placement as a difficult
procedure, while remaining 35.4% considered it to
be a simple procedure (Table 2). As many as 43.3%

respondents considered it to be a very painful pro-
cedure at the time of placement, compared to 56.7%

who thought it to be comfortable with no pain, but

on the contrary, a higher percentage (54.1%) of re-
spondents thought the procedure to be more painful

after the implant placement, in comparison to 45.9%
who found the procedure comfortable with no pain.

Keywords