The relation of preoperative stress and anxiety on patients' satisfaction after implant placement

There are some factors which can affect preoperative patient anxiety such as the necessity of procedure, postoperative pain, and patient's conception of his body image. The aim of this study was to assess the relation of patients' preoperative anxiety and postoperative patients' satisfaction in dental implant surgery.

Dental implants were placed in 40 patients (19 male and 21 female) who were referred to Dental Implant Surgery Department in Imam Reza clinic, during March-December of 2014 in Shiraz. The procedures were performed with or without bone regeneration. Preoperative anxiety was evaluated using Corah Dental Anxiety Scale, and postoperative satisfaction was determined on the basis of pain intensity, bleeding tendency, inability to eating, and overall satisfaction by filling a questionnaire in the 2^nd or 3^rd week after surgery. Data were collected and analyzed using Mann-Whitney test.

Preoperative anxiety was detected as high in 10%, mild in 85%, and moderate in 5% of patients. Anxiety and depression score did not differ in both genders. There was no statistical difference between neither level of anxiety nor depression in both high and low educated patients. Postoperative bleeding, difficulty in eating, and overall satisfaction was nearly the same in both genders. Statistical analysis demonstrated a lower pain level and higher pain threshold in men than women (P = 0.007). Patients' age was not related to anxiety, depression, amount of bleeding, pain, and difficulty in eating. Overall dental care satisfaction was similar in both men and women.

The results of the study indicated that while anxiety does play a role in the perception of pain by patients undergoing implant surgery, overall patient satisfaction and post surgical outcomes did not significantly differ.