Author(s)

Basil Yousef Alamassi^1*, Mohammad Saleh Al Onazi², Ahmad Abdullah Al Zoman¹

¹Department of Restorative Dentistry, Riyadh Colleges of Dentistry and Pharmacy, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
²Department of Dentistry, Security Force Hospital, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Objective: The aim of the present study was to evaluate personal satisfaction of adult dental patients about their smiles aesthetics in comparison to dental professionals view. Method: One hundred twenty adult patients (76 male and 44 female) visiting the screening clinics of Riyadh colleges of dentistry and Pharmacy were asked to evaluate their smiles by completing a questionnaire containing five questions concerning five aesthetic elements which are: Overall smile; color; shape; alignment of their teeth; and appearance of their gum during smiling. They were asked to rate each of the five categories in Visual Analog Scale (VAS) graded from 0 to 10. A smiling photograph was taken for each patient to be evaluated by two restorative specialists using the same scale. Patients and dental professional mean evaluation scores were statistically analyzed for any significant differences. Result: The average age of the patients was 39.1 years. The mean patients’ satisfaction with their own smiles was [6.47] on the VAS which was statistically higher than the average of dentists’ evaluation scores [4.95] (p < 0.05). Patients were most satisfied with the gingival show when smiling [6.8] and least satisfied with teeth color [6.01]. The patients gave a statistically higher evaluation scores than the dental professionals in the five categories of the study which indicates higher satisfaction regarding their own smile aesthetics (p < 0.05). Female patients were less satisfied about their smiles [5.98] than the male participants [6.74]. Patients visiting the clinic for aesthetic reasons gave a lower evaluation scores [5.65] than those visiting the clinic for non-aesthetic reasons [6.67]. Conclusion: Patients’ satisfaction about their dental aesthetics was statistically higher than the dental professional assessments. Dental professionals appear to be more critical in their evaluation of patients smile aesthetics. Age showed no significant relation with the level of satisfaction while gender and reason of dental visit showed a significant relation with patients smile satisfaction.

Dental, Aesthetic, Satisfaction, Smile, Perception

Alamassi, B. , Onazi, M. and Zoman, A. (2016) Satisfaction of Adult Patients about Their Smile Aesthetics Compared to Dental Professionals Observation. Open Journal of Stomatology, 6, 236-244. doi: 10.4236/ojst.2016.611029.