---

Background and Aim: Considering the increasing use of dental implants in replacing lost teeth, the odds of failure over time in this treatment are inevitable, as with other dental treatments; thus, it requires careful and regular follow-up. Accordingly, the present study aimed to evaluate the awareness and attitude of general dentists about the follow-up of the dental implants to create baseline information to schedule future workshops concerning dental implants.
Methods & Materials: In this analytic cross-sectional study, 98 general dentists of Arak City, Iran were evaluated. Questionnaires were designed in 3 sections, as follows: demographic, awareness, and attitude. After checking the validity and reliability of the questionnaires, they were distributed among the research participants. The obtained data were analyzed using descriptive analysis, Chi-squared test, and Independent Samples t-tests. The significance level was considered 0.05.
Ethical Considerations: This article was approved by the Ethics Committee of Arak University of Medical Sciences (Code: IR.ARAKMU.REC.1397.283).
Results: The average score of awareness of the questionnaires was equal to 10.8 (based on the score of 0-19); the mean score of attitude was measured as 12.8 (based on the score of 7-21). Fifty-Three of the explored dentists had performed implant treatment, whose awareness and attitude toward implants follow-up were significantly higher than those of the dentists who did not perform such treatment (P=0.0001). Work experience presented no significant effect on the examined dentists’ awareness and attitude (P>0.05).
Conclusion: General dentists have low awareness and attitude about implant follow-up. Follow-up plays an important role in the long-term success of implant therapy; therefore, dental education/retraining programs should be reviewed in this field.

---

Background and Aim: Different implant angulation, which is unavoidable in clinical situations, can affect the accuracy of impression. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of fixture position on the accuracy of connecting impression coping to implants with internal hex.
Materials and Methods: A gypsum model with 4 implants with internal hex connection was prepared. The implants were installed in different mesiodistal angles of 0, 15, 25 and 35 degrees to the longitudinal axis in the gypsum model. To simulate the gums, a gingival mask was injected around the implants to a height of 2 mm. After a training session for senior dental students on how to close the impression coping, forty students were asked to close the impression copings on four implants. The correctness of the impression coping was evaluated by an expert prosthodontist. Data were statistically analyzed using Cochran Q test. Significance level was considered 0.05.
Ethical Considerations: this article is approved by ethics committee of Arak University of Medical Sciences.
Findings: The correct performance of students in connecting the impression coping to the implant at angles of 0, 15, 25 and 35 degrees was equal to 85%, 72%, 52%, 35%, respectively. With the exception of 0 and 15 degree groups, a statistically significant difference was observed between different study groups.
Conclusion: The fixture position has a significant effect on the accuracy of connecting impression coping to the implants with the internal hex and by increasing the implant angulation, the accurate connection the impression coping to the implant decreases.