Management of dental implant complications among general dental practitioners in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Background: Despite increasing success rates, dental implants remain susceptible to multiple inflammatory and noninflammatory complications. Given the increased usage of dental implants in Saudi Arabia, it is reasonable to assume that a general practitioner (GP) will come across a case of peri-implantitis in his/her routine practice. Aim of the Study: The primary aim of this study is to assess the knowledge and awareness of general dental practitioners in Riyadh, using a radiographic- and clinical visual-based questionnaire in the management of implant complications. Materials and Methods: The study was conducted using a Google form questionnaire that was distributed to the GP database of the Saudi Dental Society. The questionnaire comprised of three parts. The first part of the questionnaire included the demographic data of the respondents, the second part contained visual radiographic and clinical pictures that were aimed to assess the knowledge and awareness of the participants toward the commonly occurring peri-implant complications and their management, the third part tested the attitudes of the participants toward the management of these complications. Statistical Analysis: The frequencies of the submitted data were measured using the mode and median for the nominal and ordinal variables, respectively. The Chi-square test was used to test the significance of differences while a logistic regression model was developed to assess the impact of variables such as age, year of graduation, and the extent of knowledge. Statistical analyses were done using SPSS V.22. Results: Two hundred and four responses were collected, 190 (93.1%) consented on participating in the study. The majority of the respondents were graduates before the year 2012 (47.5%). Most of the respondents (71.6%) had received a dental implantology didactic course during their undergraduate studies. There was no significant difference in the answers of the dentists who were given didactic courses in their undergraduate studies or not (P > 0.05). Most of the participants were able to identify problems related to the anatomical structures and implant-supported prosthesis, but not the surgical components of the implant itself. Conclusion: Dentists who participated in dental implantology workshops had a higher tendency to answer correctly compared to dentists who were given didactic courses in their undergraduate studies in issues associated with hands-on training. This shows that hands-on training in the undergraduate studies would result in a better understanding of dental implants, its complications, and management.