Assessing Patients' Awareness and Knowledge of Suggested Cleaning Procedures for Implant Prosthetic Restorations

Abstract

Objectives: This study was conducted to evaluate the attitudes and knowledge of patients attending Ataturk University Faculty of Dentistry Prosthodontics Clinic regarding their preferences for providing professional implant care and awareness of implant-specific oral hygiene methods. Material and Methods: A questionnaire was administered to 130 randomly selected patients with fixed or removable prosthetic restorations on implants attending the Prosthodontics Clinic of Ataturk University Faculty of Dentistry. Results: It was found that patients answered yes to the questions of flossing (27.7%), use of interface brush (21.5%), use of mouth shower (7.7%), and use of mouthwash (80.8%) among the preferred methods for cleaning implant prosthetic restorations. When the rates of mouth shower use were analyzed in terms of the relationship between education and the use of mouth shower, a statistically significant relationship was found (P < 0.001). Conclusion: Dentists play a major role in explaining and raising awareness of their patients about the cleaning of implant prostheses and home care recommendations. The general awareness tendency of patients at this point is low. This study proved that patients need to know how to take care of and clean their dentures. Our study's hypothesis, which was founded on our clinical findings prior to the investigation, suggested that there might be variations in how implant-retained prosthetic restorations are cleaned depending on the age and educational level of the patient.