Dental implants placed by undergraduate students: clinical outcomes and patients'/students' perceptions.
BACKGROUND
Implant dentistry in undergraduate education is predominantly theoretical or prosthetics oriented. Clinical experience with implant surgery could provide students a better understanding of alternatives for tooth replacements. This study describes an implant dentistry programme for undergraduate students, which included surgical placement of implants. The study presents the clinical outcomes of the programme, patients' satisfaction and students' attitudes/perceptions. It reflects on barriers and problems encountered during implementation and provides suggestions for other institutions.


METHODS
Thirty-six students placed one implant each for a single tooth replacement after careful radiographic assessment and pre-surgical planning. One-stage surgery was performed under one-to-one supervision. Crowns were cemented on individual abutments 3-6 months later. Crestal bone loss was assessed radiographically immediately after surgery, at crown placement and after 1 year of loading. Questionnaires were used to investigate patients' perspectives and students' opinions towards the programme, as well as their perceived level of competence.


RESULTS
Thirty-six implants were placed in 27 patients; two (5.6%) failed prior to loading; mean bone loss from time of surgery to crown placement was 1.41 mm and remained unchanged thereafter, reflecting implant success. Overall, patients were satisfied and the majority would repeat the treatment by a student. The students thought it was a valuable experience, although they realised that additional education is necessary to perform implant surgery without supervision.


CONCLUSIONS
Implant placement by undergraduate students resulted in acceptable clinical outcome parameters, patient satisfaction and positive student perceptions. These findings support the further development of clinical implant education in undergraduate dental curricula.
Department of Periodontology and Oral Implantology, Dental School, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium; Department of Prosthodontics, School of Dentistry, Faculty of Odontology, Malmö University, Malmö, Sweden.
S
S
Vandeweghe
S
S
Koole
F
F
Younes
P
P
De Coster
H
H
De Bruyn
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002983:Clinical Competence; D003479:Curriculum; D003757:Dental Implantation / Q000193:education*; D019232:Dental Restoration Failure; D004497:Education, Dental; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D013335:Students, Dental; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
assessment; dental curriculum; dental implants; patient satisfaction; undergraduate education