The Effect of Personality Traits on Patient Compliance With Clear Aligners

Patient compliance is crucial for achieving optimal outcomes in clear aligner (CA) therapy. Compliance may be influenced by various factors, including demographics, level of education, doctor-patient interaction, and personality traits based on the Big Five Inventory (BFI), which assesses openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism. This study investigates the relationship between personality traits and compliance among CA patients.

A cross-sectional study was conducted with 67 participants aged 12-60 undergoing CA treatment in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Patients completed an online questionnaire that assessed compliance behavior and personality traits using the BFI-10 tool. Data were statistically analyzed using SPSS software, version 26 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY), to examine correlations between personality traits, demographic factors, and adherence to CA therapy. Compliance was scored based on adherence to follow-up visits and aligner wear time.

The study revealed that 34 participants (50.75%) demonstrated high adherence to the prescribed regimen. Males showed significantly higher compliance than females (p ≤ 0.05). Participants aged 12-34 exhibited the highest adherence rates (p ≤ 0.05), and those undergoing treatment for one year or less were also more compliant (p ≤ 0.05). Notably, satisfaction with one's smile did not significantly correlate with adherence (p > 0.05), contradicting the assumption that dissatisfaction with appearance drives better compliance. Furthermore, no significant association was identified between personality traits across any BFI domain and adherence.

Despite the hypothesis that personality traits influence patient compliance, this study did not find a significant correlation. These findings suggest that factors other than personality traits may be more critical to adhering to CA treatment. The results highlight the need for further research to explore additional variables that may impact patient compliance in orthodontic therapy.