Implant-supported prostheses versus conventional permanent and removable dentures

Social, economic and technological progress results in an increasing range of treatment and rehabilitation methods for patients with partial or complete edentulism. The role of the dentist is to inform the patient about the full range of available missing teeth treatment options leading to complete rehabilitation of the masticatory organ in agreement with the patient’s aesthetic and functional expectations. The aim of the paper was to identify the type of prostheses used by patients before opting for implantsupported teeth replacements, according to the patients’ age, sex, marital status, place of residence and education. The study covered 464 patients, women and men, aged 20-74, treated with dental implants. The patients answered questions in an anonymous questionnaire. The influence of the prosthetic replacement type according to age and marital status was highly statistically significant, whereas it was statistically significant according to sex, place of residence and education. The female respondents who previously used tissue-borne complete or partial dentures opted for implant treatment more frequently. The respondents younger than 40 and between 40-60 years of age who did not previously used any prosthetic replacements opted for implant treatment more frequently. The respondents who did not use any prosthetic replacements decided to undergo implant treatment most frequently, regardless of their marital status, education and place of residence. The patients opted for implant treatment to improve their quality of life, despite the high cost of such therapy.