CONTINUING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN IMPLANT DENTISTRY AMONG NIGERIAN DENTISTS

Abstract

The practice of implant dentistry is low in Nigeria. Continuing Professional Development (CPD) help dentists to keep up to-date with new scientific knowledge and integrate the learned skill into safe clinical practice. The aim of this study is to determine the level of exposure to Continuing professional development in implant dentistry amongst Nigerian dentists. A cross sectional study was carried out amongst dentists drawn from all geopolitical zones of Nigeria who were attending a dental update course including the dental house officers present in the institution where the update course took place. A structured self-administered questionnaire was used to elicit information on their knowledge of different providers of CPD and assessment of CPD in implant dentistry in Nigeria, dental implant treatment experience, undergraduate exposure to dental implant education and continuing professional development in implant dentistry among respondents. Data was analysed with statistical package for social Sciences software version 17 (SPSS, Chicago, IL). A total of 110 respondents, comprising of 55.5% males and 44.5% females participated in the study. The mean age was 33.5(7.4) years.  Undergraduate exposure to implant dentistry was mostly by lectures 91(82.7%), the most common post-graduation exposure to implant training was live demonstration (49.1%) followed by organized short courses (28.2%). The largest CPD providers were private organizations 41(37.3%) and the National/local dental association 39(35.5%). Majority (82.7%) of the respondents had not received CPD on implant dentistry.  This indicated a low level of exposure. There is therefore a need for well-structured CPD courses on implant dentistry to be made available in Nigeria.