Abstract
Objective: The present study aimed at assessing public's perception (knowledge and attitude) and motivation for prosthodontic rehabilitation in Saudi Arabia. Materials and methods: The present cross-sectional study was conducted in Saudi Arabia using an online survey questionnaire, from September 2020 to March 2021. A self-constructed questionnaire was designed on Google forms, and the online survey link was circulated through social media, the response being obtained through online survey submission. The questionnaire comprised 32 closed-ended questions, categorized into three sections, to assess the demographic details, participants' perceptions regarding the prosthodontic treatment and type of prosthodontic treatment received, and motivation for investigating them in addition to the problems and satisfaction following treatment. All data was analysed using SPSS v.24. Parametric continuous data was presented as mean and standard deviation (SD), and categorical data - as frequency and percentage. Results and discussion: The study included 3,038 participants, out of which the majority, 2,675 (68.6%), were females. Around 71.4% of the participants were aware of the prosthodontic specialty. The mean overall satisfaction of participants after prosthodontic rehabilitation was 6.96 +/- 2.54, participants > 56 years being more satisfied than other age groups. There was a significant variation as to the reasons that motivated participants to visit dentists, in terms of age (p=0.015), income (p=0.001), education (p=0.004) and job (p<0.001).Conclusions: Patient perceptions and motivation for seeking prosthodontic rehabilitation vary, based on demographic factors, such as socioeconomic status, knowledge level, gender, and age. Most patients in Saudi Arabia trusted their family and friends' advice rather than celebrity or influencer advertisement in seeking prosthodontic care.