Awareness, knowledge, and attitude of dental practitioners to the one-stage protocol of dental implant loading: A sub-Saharan African perspective

Objectives: Dental implant therapy is still considered an evolving field in the sub-Saharan Africa, with most dental surgeons skilled in implant placement favoring the delayed loading protocol (>3 months) even in the rehabilitation of missing anterior teeth. This study aims to evaluate the current level of knowledge and attitude of Nigerian general dental practitioners toward the immediate loading protocol of dental implants. Materials and Methods: This is a descriptive, cross-sectional survey conducted among Nigerian dental practitioners. Self-administered, pretested questionnaires were used to collect data regarding their knowledge and attitude to immediate loading of implants. Data collected were analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 22 (IBM Corp, Armonk, NY, USA) Results: A total of 237 dentists completely filled the questionnaires. Nearly 46% of the participants had good knowledge on the procedure and advantages offered by the immediately loading dental implants with provisional restorations, whereas 81% had negative reservations toward implant placement using the protocol. In addition, this study found a statistically significant association (P < 0.05) between the knowledge and attitude of the dental practitioners regarding the protocol. Conclusion: There is slighlty poor knowledge and significant negative attitude of dentists toward the immediate implant loading protocol in Nigeria. Improved information dissemination from general dental practitioners to patients, and practice of the protocol in indicated cases by implantologists is expected with increased awareness and subsequent training on its use and viability.