Effect of Different Postoperative Information Strategies on Patient Compliance Following Dental Implant Surgery: A Prospective Randomized Controlled Trial

Abstract

Objective: This prospective randomized controlled trial compared the effects of different postoperative information strategies on patient compliance during the first week following dental implant surgery. Methods: Eighty-two patients undergoing minor implant surgery were randomly assigned to three groups: verbal information only (Group A), verbal plus written information (Group B), or verbal information reinforced with a standardized telephone reminder on postoperative day 3 (Group C). Compliance was assessed on day 7 using a researcher-developed 10-item Likert-type questionnaire (total score range: 10–50). Intergroup comparisons for the primary outcome were performed using the Kruskal–Wallis test with Dunn post-hoc analysis. Effect size was calculated using epsilon-squared (ε²). Results: No significant differences were observed among groups for early mechanical care behaviors (all p > 0.05). Significant intergroup differences were found for behaviors requiring sustained adherence, including oral hygiene, antibiotic use, analgesic/NSAID use, and chlorhexidine mouthwash use, with the highest compliance consistently observed in Group C (all p ≤ 0.01). Median total compliance scores were 36 [34–40], 42 [39–45], and 46 [43–48] for Groups A, B, and C, respectively (p < 0.001; ε² = 0.21). Conclusion: Telephone reinforcement of postoperative instructions significantly improved early patient compliance after implant surgery and may serve as a simple, low-cost adjunct to routine postoperative education.

Keywords

• Dental Implants
• Patient Compliance
• Postoperative Care
• Patient Education
• Reminder Systems

Supporting Institution

The authors declare that this study received no financial support.

Project Number

Not applicable

Ethical Statement

Ethical approval was obtained from the Scientific Research Ethics Committee of Lokman Hekim University (Approval No: 2025/208). Participants signed a written informed consent form prior to enrollment.

Thanks

The authors would like to thank O. Agmaz for conducting the standardized telephone follow-ups and C. Ozdemir for performing the face-to-face postoperative compliance assessments on the 7th day.

Dental İmplant Cerrahisi Sonrası Hasta Uyumunu Etkileyen Farklı Postoperatif Bilgilendirme Stratejileri: Prospektif Randomize Kontrollü Bir Çalışma

Abstract

Amaç: Bu prospektif randomize kontrollü çalışma, dental implant cerrahisi sonrası ilk hafta boyunca farklı postoperatif bilgilendirme stratejilerinin hasta uyumu üzerindeki etkilerini karşılaştırmayı amaçlamıştır. Yöntem: İmplant cerrahisi uygulanan 82 hasta üç gruba randomize edilmiştir: yalnızca sözlü bilgilendirme (Grup A), sözlü ve yazılı bilgilendirme (Grup B) ve postoperatif 3. günde standartlaştırılmış telefon hatırlatması ile pekiştirilen sözlü bilgilendirme (Grup C). Postoperatif uyum, 7. günde araştırmacı tarafından geliştirilen 10 maddelik Likert tipi bir anket ile değerlendirilmiş (toplam skor aralığı: 10–50). Birincil sonlanım için gruplar arası karşılaştırmalar Kruskal–Wallis testi ve Dunn post-hoc analizi ile yapılmış, etki büyüklüğü epsilon-kare (ε²) ile hesaplanmıştır. Bulgular: Erken dönem mekanik bakım davranışları açısından gruplar arasında anlamlı fark saptanmamıştır (tüm p > 0.05). Buna karşın, ağız hijyeni, antibiyotik kullanımı, analjezik/NSAİİ kullanımı ve klorheksidin gargarası kullanımı gibi süreklilik gerektiren davranışlarda anlamlı farklar belirlenmiş; en yüksek uyum skorları tutarlı şekilde Grup C’de gözlenmiştir (p ≤ 0.01). Medyan toplam uyum skorları Grup A, Grup B ve Grup C için sırasıyla 36 [34–40], 42 [39–45] ve 46 [43–48] olarak bulunmuştur (p < 0.001; ε² = 0.21). Sonuç: Telefon hatırlatması ile postoperatif talimatların pekiştirilmesi, implant cerrahisi sonrası erken dönemde hasta uyumunu anlamlı düzeyde artırmaktadır ve rutin hasta eğitimi protokollerine basit ve düşük maliyetli bir katkı sağlayabilir.

Keywords

• Dental implantlar
• Hasta uyumu
• Postoperatif bakım
• Hasta eğitimi
• Hatırlatma sistemleri

Supporting Institution

Yazarlar, bu çalışmanın hiçbir finansal destek almadığını beyan ederler.

Project Number

Not applicable

Ethical Statement

Lokman Hekim Üniversitesi Bilimsel Araştırmalar Etik Kurulu'ndan etik onay alınmıştır (Onay No: 2025/208). Katılımcılar, kayıt öncesinde yazılı bilgilendirilmiş onam formu imzalamışlardır.

Thanks

Yazarlar, standartlaştırılmış telefon hatırlatmalarını gerçekleştiren O.Agmaz ve 7. günde yüz yüze postoperatif uyum değerlendirmelerini yapan C. Ozdemir'e teşekkür ederler.

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