Knowledge, Awareness, and Attitude of Libyan Patients toward Dental Implant as a Treatment Modality for Oral Rehabilitation.

Background: Tooth loss can lead to functional impairment, loss of adjacent teeth, supra-eruption of opposing teeth, difficulty speaking, low self-esteem, aesthetic problems, and feelings of depression.Therefore, restoration of function and aesthetics is an essential need for these patients.Today dental implants are widely accepted and considered as a prosthetic treatment of completely or partially edentulous patients. Aims:The aims of the present study were to assess the awareness of the patients toward dental implants as an option for missing teeth replacement, in addition to evaluate the correlation between knowledge of implants and demographic factors including (age, sex, and education ). Materials and Methods:This was a cross-sectional survey.Self-reported questionnaires were administered to 540 patients wearing fixed and removable prosthesis.The questions explored the patient's knowledge and awareness regarding dental implants supported prosthesis, as well as its correlation to demography.The data were analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics software (version 23.0,IBM Corp. Armonk, NY, USA). Results:The data shows that the majority of the participants in the study were female, The mean age of the participants was 48.28 years.In terms of education level, most participants had secondary education, accounting for (72.6%).(59.30%) choosing fixed prosthesis as a treatment option to restore or replace missing teeth.However, (40.70%), still opts for removable partial dentures.Of the 540 responses that were obtained, (96.9%) had heard of dental implants, while (3.1%) were unaware of this kind of treatment.Only (9.4%) of respondents had previously received dental implant treatment, according to the data.(7.8 %) were treated with implant supported fixed prosthesis, and (1.7%) by implant supported removable prosthesis. Conclusion:Libyan patients are highly aware of dental implant.There is a significant difference in knowledge about implants among individuals based on their educational background.It was found that higher awareness appeared among female compared to male.