Awareness about dental implants amongst dental practitioners in navi mumbai: a knowledge, attitude and practice study

Objective: To assess the number of Private Dental Practitioners (PDPs) practicing and not practicing dental implantology and to evaluate their knowledge, awareness and practice about implant dentistry. Methods: A self-structured questionnaire was distributed to 200 PDPs of Navi Mumbai. The questionnaire covered general basic information and assessed the knowledge, attitude and practice of PDPs regarding implant dentistry. Descriptive analysis was carried out for the responses. Results: Out of 200 PDPs 45% were Bachelor of Dental Surgery(BDS) and most of them were not practicing implant dentistry due to lack of skills, while 55% were Master of Dental Surgery (MDS) in various fields and were practicing implant dentistry by themselves. High cost of implant dentistry and fear of surgery was the main hindrance in convincing the patients for dental implants. Most of the PDPs would like to update their knowledge regarding implant dentistry through Continuing Dental Education (CDE) programs. Conclusion: Though dental implants have changed the outlook of dentistry in last few decades, the knowledge and practice of dental implants by PDPs in Navi Mumbai is still limited. Various courses and CDE programs can help PDPs to update their knowledge and skill regarding implant dentistry.