Perceptions of satisfaction in patients with an implant-crown in the aesthetic zone

Problem: There is little understanding of patients’ experiences and perceptions with satisfaction relating to a single-tooth implant in the aesthetic zone. Objectives: The objective of this study was to better understand patients’ lived experiences with a single tooth-implant crown in the aesthetic zone, especially their perceptions of satisfaction. Methods: An interpretive phenomenological analysis approach was the adopted research design. In the maintenance phase, 13 current patients who previously had a maxillary implant placed in the aesthetic zone and restored with a single-unit prosthesis from dental specialty trainees at the participating university were invited to join the study, from which nine participants, ages ranging from 24 to 76 years, were included. Demographics, digital photographs, intraoral scans, and self-administered questionnaires were collected to assist in identifying diversity in the sample. The phenomenological data, comprised of audio-recorded semi-structured one-to-one interviews with the participants, were transcribed verbatim, coded, and analyzed thematically, aided by computer-assisted qualitative data analysis software. Results: Participants underlined that a single-tooth implant is not simply a technological solution, since they typically perceive it as recovering their normal lives. Patient satisfaction’s multidimensional nature was corroborated since the perceived reasons for satisfaction varied widely among the group of participants. It seems that negative feelings of dissatisfaction arose for some participants during the treatment process originating from adverse events, patient-clinician relationships, and/or perceptions of high expectations or uncertainty, whereas, these feelings eventually mostly diminished to the extent that participants expressed overall satisfaction with the treatment outcome. Underlying this was usually a perception of improvement in the social aspect of their lives, including in self-esteem and self-confidence, by having their appearance restored in a natural way, despite some of them recognizing that the resulting appearance was not perfectly matching their natural dentition. Conclusion: Many aspects of the treatment, especially the final outcome, influenced participant satisfaction at different stages of the process. The results should provide clinicians with an improved understanding of the basis for managing patients’ expectations with information reiteratively and efficiently. This may ultimately reduce the potential for negative feelings of patients toward the implant treatment experience.Dentistry, Faculty ofGraduat