The Importance Of Dental Aesthetics Among Dental Students

Keywords

Awareness; Dental Esthetics; Physical Aspects; Speech; Behaviour.

Introduction

In this modern society, good appearance often means a lot in both professional and personal lives. Both men and women are very conscious about their appearance. The cultural definition of dental beauty differs, however, across different populations, regions, countries, and even continents. It is also dynamic, with parameters of dental beauty changing across time, for varying reasons [1]. There is a high demand for cosmetic dentistry because people want to resemble their favorite celebrity. Esthetics is not only concerned with smile correction but also deals with profile correction and also jaw. Because of increased concern it is important to understand the factors that decide whether a smile is attractive or not. The study of beauty norms and standards is done to come up with the “golden smile” that can be used in diagnostic methods and aesthetic treatment plans [2].

An ideal smile may not be the right term instead a balanced smile can be achieved by proper positioning of teeth. A smile which appears attractive at the first glance need not be so in the second, this explains the concept of threshold level of acceptable deviation [3-6]. Facial attractiveness and smile attractiveness are closely connected to each other because in any social interaction the attention of the speaker is directed towards the mouth and eyes of the speaker [7]. An attractive smile does not only depend on tooth position, shape, size or color of the teeth but also on the visible gingiva and frame of the lips. Smile attractiveness plays a major role in the social life of a person. An individual evaluating their own smile in photographs is rare because they are mostly consciously posed. The mouth is the center of attraction and thus a smile is the most important factor in designing the attractiveness of the face [8]. Since the upcoming generation is more in to the aesthetic appearance this study was conducted among the dental students in Chennai city. Thus this study aims to evaluate the insight of smile attractiveness among the dental students of Chennai city.

Materials and Methods

The study included 182 students in the field of dentistry from age group 20-24 years. Randomised control trial was done. The questionnaire included demographic details such as age, gender, qualification etc and also other knowledge, attitude and practice related questions. It also included physical, functional and psychological aspects. A total of 15 questions were framed. The students were said to understand each and every question and asked to fill the survey. Their response was treated as satisfied or not satisfied. The questionnaire included questions regarding the functional, physical and social aspects of dental aesthetics. The study setting was the University setting. This retrospective study was approved by the following ethical approval number of the university, SDC/SIHEC/2020/DIASDATA/0619-0320. Type III examination procedures were included and 182 participants were reviewed. Cross verification of data for error identification was done. The results were obtained and frequency descriptives were used. A Chi-square test was done to compute and analyze the significance of study.

Statistical Analysis:

Data entered in Microsoft Excel sheet and then imported to SPSS software. Variable definition process was done using table and graphical illustrations. Descriptive statistics tests and Inferential statistics were used. IBM SPSS version 20.0 statistical software used. Dependent variables taken were gender, age, photographs. Independent variables were name and location. The data then transferred to a host computer and processed for further analysis.

Table 1 shows the physical aspects of dental aesthetics and its awareness and shows the distribution response. About 34.7% of females and 65.3% of males are satisfied with their smile. About 25.3% of the males and 74.7% of the females were not satisfied with their smiles. Nearly 47.8% of the males and 52.2% of the females were satisfied with their colour of teeth and gums. Nearly 44.6% of the males and 55.4% of the females were not satisfied with their colour of teeth and gums. This study shows that 54.4% of males and 45.6% of the females are satisfied with the pigmentation of gums and lips. Nearly 32.4% of males and 67.6% of the females were not satisfied with the pigmentation of gums and lips.

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Table 2 shows the functional aspects of dental aesthetics and its awareness. It shows the distributive response. 45.6% and 54.4% of females and males, respectively are satisfied with their functional aspects of eating. 67.6% and 32.4% females and males found difficulty in eating. An association between males and females with respect to speech was found. 34.7% of females and 65.3% of males are satisfied with their functional aspects of speech. 74.7% of females and 25.3% of males are not satisfied with their functional aspects of speech.

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Table 3 shows the social aspects of dental esthetics and its awareness. It shows the distributive response. 57.3% of females and 42.7% of males are satisfied with their habits. 50% of females and 50% males were not satisfied with their functional aspects of habit. 56.8% of females and 43.2% of males are satisfied with their career and believed that their appearance is not a hindrance to their career. Where as 50.6% of females and 49.4% of males are not satisfied with their career and believe that their appearance is a hindrance to their career.

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This study clearly observes that aesthetics play a strong role in building one’s career and maintaining relationships. Dynamics of satisfaction, this statement is clearly proved by similar studies [9]. This study shows that the majority of both females and males are aware of cosmetic dentistry and the fact that the dentist can help them to change their smile. Similar results were seen in studies done by Peres et al [10]. A study conducted by kihn WP et al suggests that tooth color is a major factor in deciding the attractiveness of the smile. Hadeel A Mokhtar et al [1] analyses the attractiveness of the smile among saudi population based on smile line and form, gingival aesthetics, midline, symmetry and that study has a statistical difference in evaluation of gummy, diastema and reverse smiles [1].

The females contributed to the majority. A lot of female students were enrolled in comparison with their counterparts due to the fact that the college consisted of females. Similar studies were done by college students of Davangere, India [11]. With respect to the functional aspects of dental esthetic awareness the males felt that eating was an important parameter of interest where as females felt that speech was an important aspect of dental. Similar studies also highlighted the fact that malocclusion definitely influenced the adolescent's satisfaction with appearance [10]. This study shows that the majority of females and males are satisfied with their smiles. Majority of males felt that pigmentation caused an unesthetic appearance. Majority of the females and males are not satisfied with their career and believe that their appearance is a hindrance to their career. Majority of males were not satisfied with their relationship and believed that appearance affects their relationship status.

Conclusion

This study shows that the subjects showed a high level of selfconsciousness and also that males are more vulnerable to physiological consequences when compared to females. This study proves that even the slightest of all have a greater impact on the above-mentioned dimensions in particular to social, functional and physical aspects. Statistical significant difference was observed between the gender and various aspects such as smile, pigmentation, eating, speech and relationship. Hence, there remains a need in the training towards the same.

Acknowledgment

The authors of the study would like to acknowledge the support rendered by the Media Records Department of Saveetha Dental College and Hospitals and the management for their constant assistance with the research.