Visible Enamel Defects in Adolescents: How Do their Peers View Them?

The present study was aimed to determine whether adolescents make social judgments about other children who have noticeable enamel imperfections.

Two schools with very different socio-economic profiles were selected using a stratified random sampling method. Children aged 13-14 years (school class 9) and 15-16 (school class 11) were randomly selected from these schools totaling to a sample size of 200. Half the participants rated full-face photographs of a boy and girl without an enamel defect, and the other half-rated the same two photographs with the digitally modified incisors. The photographic subjects were rated on a four-point Likert's scale consisting of six positive and five negative descriptors.

Based on the gender of the photographic subject, the mean total attribute score was almost identical. However, it was lower for photographic subjects showing enamel defects as compared to those without.

The dental appearance can influence value judgments in children.

It is important to treat the enamel lesions and various developmental defects of the enamel as it may lead to a negative social judgment by peers.

Nayak UA, Pawar A, Kappadi D, Prajapati D, Roy KJ, Wadhwa S. Visible Enamel Defects in Adolescents: How Do their Peers View Them?. Int J Clin Pediatr Dent, 2018;11(6):479-482.