As dentists, we know how to document and monitor successful treatment outcomes. But how do our patients perceive success? What do they believe about implants and what do they expect from implant therapy? In the next few minutes, we will discuss how to best communicate the implant therapy with your patient. Sometimes patients are not satisfied with their treatment outcomes, but that is at times the result of unrealistic expectations and misperceptions, rather than the result of the actual treatment. Proper communication and patient education prior to the treatment is therefore essential to help the patients understand the true potential and the limitations of dental implant therapy. We did some investigations on patients in Hong Kong and Mainland China, to find out their initial information level, perceptions, and expectations of the implant treatment outcome. Our results showed that the main information source remained either a dentist or a hygienist, but a large part of the population actually learned what they know about implants from their social circle or on the internet. Although the majority of the participants had heard about implants, only a few of them felt confident with the information they had. In our study sample, expectations of treatment outcome were generally high. We let the patients evaluate the improvement they expected from implant treatment, such as, dental implants can make chewing easier, or implants improve one’s appearance, or implants increase social confidence, or offer better oral conditions, and implants improve comfort, and enhance the general quality of life. On a scale from zero to 100, patients usually indicated more than 80. The way patients form their expectations is complex and diverse and not always within our control. You can find a lot of factors influencing the formation of expectations. Nevertheless, what we can do is, firstly, diagnose early enough if our patients harbour any unrealistic perceptions from implant therapy. Then, correct any misperceptions of the patients and help them establish a good understanding of potential and limitations. Interestingly, we found that at least 30% of our patients appeared to have misperceptions about dental implants. For example, they thought that dental implants require less care than natural teeth, or implants are appropriate for all patients with missing teeth, implants last longer than natural teeth, or there are no risks or complications associated with implants. Clearly, patients with these misperceptions may not be very satisfied with the treatment outcome. Hence, in pre-surgery communication with patients, we can supplement the discussion with further information such as education booklets or videos and visual aids. While helping patients gain a more comprehensive view of dental implants, the information also help them relate to the actual potential and limitations of our treatment. Communicating a treatment plan can be complex and highly individualized, as each patient may have specific personal needs and conditions. In general, a good communication plan should include the following points, discussion of what is dental implants? This should address the treatment options for replacing the missing teeth. The difference between implant-supported prosthesis and natural teeth, and how long implants prostheses will last. Patients will also need to know more details with regard to implant surgery. For example, how long does an implant treatment usually take? Is the procedure painful? The healing process after the surgery and possible complications during and after the surgery. Apart from the surgery, what the patients are expected to do before and after the implant therapy should be explained as well. From our clinical experiences, although these questions are considered very important for patients, at times, effective communications may not be easy for the dentists. Therefore, we developed an information booklet to answer some questions and address the most common misperceptions that are encountered by our patients. This booklet is free to use, include both the English and Chinese versions, and you are welcome to download the booklet as part of the reading for this course. To conclude, helping patients understand the potential and limitations of dental implant therapy could provide a basis for us to manage our patients expectations confidently, to better handle the treatment procedures and possible outcomes, and last but not the least, for patients to gain treatment satisfaction.
