Background: The use of oral implants in prosthodontics has become widespread and regarded as a predictable treatment modality. However, there is a lack of knowledge among the general population about the prevalence and need for implant treatments.
Purpose: This study was undertaken to register and compare the prevalence of dental implants and the subjective need for implant treatment among people in Sweden and Denmark.
Materials and methods: Random samples taken from the national population registers in Sweden and Denmark comprised 1001 Swedish subjects aged 55 to 79 years and 1175 Danish subjects aged 45 to 69 years. Subjects were requested to fill out questionnaires regarding dental conditions, subjective need for implant treatment, whether they had received treatment with dental implants during the previous 10 years, and so on.
Results: Of the Swedes, 4.8% reported that they had dental implants, compared with 2.5% of the Danes. In the Swedish sample, age was significantly associated with subjective need for implant treatment. In the Danish sample, women showed a significantly higher subjective need for implant treatment than did men.
Conclusions: Compared with the Swedish sample, the subjective need for treatment with dental implants was higher in the Danish sample, although the patient fees were substantially higher in Denmark.