Percepciones y expectativas sobre el tratamiento con implantes dentales en personas atendidas en las clínicas de posgrado de la Universidad Santo Tomás en el primer período del 2021

Abstract

A qualitative study was carried out from the perspective of phenomenology to describe the perceptions and expectations of three groups of individuals with different characteristics, namely, i) the group that would undergo an oral implantology procedure, ii) the group of those with dental implants without rehabilitation and iii) the group of people rehabilitated with an implant-supported and/or implant-retained prosthetic solution in the clinics of the Oral Rehabilitation and Periodontics Specialization of the Santo Tomás University, Bucaramanga section, during the first period of 2021, in which 11 people participated and the semi-structured interview was made as an instrument. The results show that, with regart to the first group of people, their quality of life, self-perception, security and confidence are affected by the absence of teeth and, therefore, they consider that this treatment would significantly improve their quality of life. Concerning the second group, the studies show that they had very high expectations in terms of function and aesthetics. Lastly, with respect to the third group, some of them reached their expectations and others were not so satisfied in cost-benefit ratio. Hence, it is concluded that function and aesthetics are present in each of the interest groups, that all people understand the necessity of caring for implants by means of hygiene elements and controls, and that people interviewed whom presented less realistic expectations are those that reported a higher cost-benefit ratio.