Single tooth implant versus resin-bonded bridge: A study of patient's satisfaction

Abstract

Objective: To compare the patients' satisfaction between patients treated with single tooth implant (STI) or resin bonded bridge (RBB) for single missing tooth replacement. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in Faculty of Dentistry, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM). Patients treated using STI (n=26) and RBB (n=26) were prospectively recruited. A validated patient satisfaction questionnaire was given to the participants to assess the aesthetics, masticatory function, phonetics, ease of cleaning and cost satisfaction using 7-point Likert scale. Demographic data (gender and age) and treatment data (site of treatment) were also collected. Differences in various aspects of satisfaction were compared. Results: STI and RBB groups has similar demographic and treatment characteristics. Both groups revealed high satisfaction with most of the aspects in the questionnaire. There was no statistically significant difference in overall satisfaction between the two treatment groups (p= 0.189). However, STI group had a significant higher score in existing appearance (p= 0.010), mastication (p= 0.018) and phonetics (p= 0.029) compared with RBB. Level of satisfaction did not differ by gender, age and site of the prostheses (p>0.05). Almost all of the participants would choose to undergo the same treatment again in UiTM (STI = 96.2%, RBB = 92.3%). Conclusion: Both STI and RBB participants were highly satisfied with the aesthetics, phonetics, cost and found that the treatment fees were justified and reasonable in UiTM. Therefore, both treatment options are good to be indicated for single missing tooth replacement.