Self-perception of dental appearance and aesthetics in a student population

To assess the perception of personal dental appearance and dental aesthetics of a young adult population and to compare this with their normatively assessed orthodontic treatment need.

This was a cross-sectional study involving 420 undergraduate students aged 18-30years, with no previous history of orthodontic treatment. Objective assessment of dental aesthetics was carried out using the aesthetic component of the Index of Orthodontic Treatment Need (IOTN), while self-administered questionnaires were used to assess perception of personal dental appearance.

Over 90% of the students considered healthy and well-arranged teeth to be important to their appearance, however, only 36% of them were satisfied with their dental aesthetics. In addition, three-quarters (75%) of the students reported that they desired to change the appearance of their teeth, majority (56.5%) wanted to change the colour, whilst 31.2% wanted to change the arrangement of their teeth (31.2%). A statistically significant association (P=0.05) was recorded between the level of satisfaction with their dental aesthetics and an objective assessment by an orthodontist.

The two most important features in the perception of their personal dental appearance, for this young adult population, were the 'colour' and 'arrangement' of their teeth. There was a statistically significant association between their satisfaction with their dental aesthetics and their normatively assessed orthodontic treatment need, although no correlation was observed between both variables.