Sources of patients’ knowledge on the treatment of missing teeth with implants

The number of patients who take the decision to have implantoprosthetic treatment keeps increasing. The aim of this study was to determine the sources of knowledge about possibilities of treating missing teeth with implants. The survey was conducted among 464 patients of both sexes aged from 20 to 74 years, treated with dental implants at the Non-Public Healthcare Centre “Dental” in Tomaszów Mazowiecki. The patients answered questions in an anonymous questionnaire. The questions included age, place of residence and source of knowledge about implants. Persons aged up to 40 years frequently obtained knowledge about the possibility of using implants from the media; patients aged 40-60 years - from their dentist, and people over 60 years of age - from family or friends. Persons living in rural areas or small town frequently acquired knowledge of the possibility of dental implants from the dentist, the city residents - from family or friends. The results of the survey indicate that the dentist is most commonly the main source of information about the possibility of replacing the missing teeth with implants, less family and friends and the media. The source of acquiring knowledge in this field varies depending on the age and place of residence of the persons concerned.