Public awareness, information sources and evaluation of oral implant treatment in Norway

A nation-wide survey from a representative sample of the general Norwegian population was made in co-operation with Statistics of Norway, to assess public awareness, sources of information and evaluation of oral implants. A response rate of 70.8% was obtained. Of the general population 70.1% (95% confidence interval: 68.6-71.6%) had heard of oral implants. No specific demographic variables were associated with unawareness of oral implants. Of the general population 60.4% (95% confidence interval: 57.9-62.8%) evaluated oral implants positively and 56.7% (95% confidence interval: 54.7%-58.7%) would consider oral implants as treatment for themselves if needed, while 18.0% gave negative evaluation and 23.0% would not consider implant treatment. Logistic regression analyses indicated that young males in urban areas with high income and high educational level were most positive to oral implants. News media like newspapers and TV/radio were together with personal communications the most frequently indicated sources of information. News media were associated with negative evaluation of implants. The overall positive evaluation of oral implants suggests however that the Norwegian general public utilises several sources of information, and are able to evaluate them critically.