Patients’ general satisfaction with the appearance of anterior maxillary teeth

Abstract

Background/Aim. Dental appearance plays an important role in practically all personal social interactions. The main factors that define the dental appearance are tooth colour, shape and position, quality of restoration, and the general position of the teeth in arch, especially in the anterior region. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of dental status (tooth shape, fracture, dental and prosthetic restorations and presence of plaque) on patient's satisfaction with the dental appearance, controlling for the age and gender. Methods. A total of 700 Caucasian subjects (439 women) aged 18-86 (median 45 years) participated in the cross-sectional study. Study included clinical examination and self-administrated questionnaire based on selfperceived aesthetics and satisfaction with the appearance of their maxillary anterior teeth. Results. A regression analysis demonstrated that presence of dental plaque, tooth fracture, composite fillings and crowns had significant independent contribution and were negative predictors of satisfaction with teeth appearance. Participants with presence of plaque on upper teeth (p < 0.001), fractures (p = 0.005), composite fillings (p < 0.001) and crowns (p = 0.032) were less satisfied than those without it. Model explains 12% or variance of general satisfaction with the appearance of maxillary frontal teeth (p < 0.001) and the major contributors are composite fillings (5.3%) and plaque (3.2%). Tooth shape, age and gender were not significant predictors of satisfaction. Conclusion. Satisfaction with the teeth appearance is under the influence of many factors with significant negative influence of presence of dental plaque, fractures, composite restorations, and crowns. ApstraktUvod/Cilj. Izgled zuba igra važnu ulogu u praktički svim kontaktima jedne osobe. Glavni faktori koji definišu izgled zuba su boja, oblik i pozicija zuba, kvalitet restauracije i položaj zuba u zubnom luku, posebno u prednjem delu. Cilj ovog rada bio je da se utvrdi uticaj životnog doba, pola, frakture zuba i plak indeksa na zadovoljstvo pacijenta izgledom zuba. Metode. U istraživanju je učestvovalo 700 ispitanika u životnom dobu 18-86 godina (medijana 45 godina). Istraživanje je bilo bazirano na kliničkom pregledu i ispunjavanju upitnika koji je uključivao pitanja bazirana na samoproceni zadovoljstva izgledom gornjih prednjih zuba. Rezultati. Regresijska analiza je pokazala da dentalni plak, frakture zuba, kompozitni ispuni i krunice imaju statistički značajan uticaj i da su negativni prediktori zadovoljstva izgledom zuba. Ispitanici s plakom na gornjim prednjim zubima (p < 0,001), frakturom (p = 0,005), kompozitnim ispunima (p < 0,001) i krunicama (p = 0,032) bili su manje zadovoljni od ispitanika bez njih. Model objašnjava 12% varijanse generalnog zadovoljstva izgledom gornjih prednjih zuba (p < 0,001) kao i najveći učinak imaju kompozitni ispuni (5,3%) i plak (3,2%). Oblik zuba, životno doba i pol nisu bili značajni prediktori zadovoljstva. Zaključak. Zadovoljstvo izgledom zuba je pod uticajem mnogih fa...

Patient Satisfaction with Dental Appearance and Related FactorsA Cross Sectional Study

“…In a study by Lajnert et al (13) on Caucasians in Croatia, 42.9% of men and 40.9% of women were satisfied with their dental appearance, which is less than what was observed in the present study. This difference can be attributed to the fact that Lajnert's study was focused on satisfaction with anterior teeth.…”

“…In the regression analysis, a significant relationship was found between the mean age of the respondents and the mean score of satisfaction with dental appearance. This is consistent with the findings of Lajnert (13) and Alkhatib, (16) which reported that older people were less satisfied with their dental appearance. Older people usually have more dental restorations, wear, and discolouration, which can affect their satisfaction with their teeth.…”

“…In the present study, 172 [52.3%] of the respondents were satisfied with their tooth colour. In the studies of Lajnert et al, (13) Maghaireh et al, (10) and Al-Zarea et al, (19) the rate of satisfaction with tooth colour has been 36.6%, 66.3%, and 43.1% respectively. It has been shown that tooth colour is the primary cause of dissatisfaction with dental appearance.…”