Clinical Statistical Study of New Patients in Oral Implant Center at Tokushima University Hospital

Purpose: Oral Implant Center established in April 2014 as specialized clinical section at Tokushima University Hospital. The aim of this study was to report a survey of new patients of preoperative registration at Oral Implant Center during the five years since its establishment.<br> Subjects and methods: Investigation of gender and age, chief complaint, details of treatment requests, sites of missing teeth, number of missing teeth, cause of tooth extraction, and treatment status for patients registered at Oral Implant Center from April 2014 to March 2019 were performed.<br> Results: Regarding the chief complaint, 605 (88.3%) patients consulted preoperatively for a request for implant treatment, and 80 (11.7%) consulted about complain of previous implant treatment or a request for continued maintenance. The average number of missing teeth for which treatment was requested was 3.8. The proportion of patients who wished to be treated for the number of missing teeth was 32.2% for missing one tooth, 56.1% for missing few teeth (2 to 6 teeth), 7.8% for missing many teeth (7 or more teeth) and edentulous 3.9%. As for the details of treatment requests of 80 patients who had already received implant treatment, 33 (41.3%) consulted on the improper superstructure, 29 (36.3%) wished to examine and treat peri-implantitis, 4 (5%) wished to remove the implant and 14 (17.5%) requested continued maintenance.<br> Discussion and conclusion: The number of new patients regarding implant treatment has been about the same each year, and it was reconfirmed that it was recognized as a treatment method for dental prostheses. In particular, many patients wished to receive implant treatment for a single tooth missing, suggesting that the patients also recognized the importance of preserving the remaining teeth. On the other hand, the number of patients complaining of previous implant treatment tends to increase, and it is necessary to consider future correspondence.