EVALUATION OF DENTAL SCHOOL STUDENT’S SATISFACTION REGARDING THEIR OWN SMILE ESTHETICS AND FACIAL PROFILE

Abstract

Introduction: Facial aesthetics is especially important in a person’s life. However, what is considered aesthetic by the orthodontist does not always correspond with the patient’s opinion, since aesthetics is very subjective. Thus, the aim of this study is to evaluate the perception of dental graduate students in relation to their own
smile and facial profile, analyzing if there would be any difference between this self-evaluation associated with the year students are attending in dental school and the technical knowledge progressively acquired. Materials and methods: A transverse observational study was performed, in which a questionnaire was
applied to all dentistry students at the State University of Rio de Janeiro. The questionnaire inquired about: student’s current semester, age, gender, nationality, and previous history of orthodontic treatment. It also contained a Likert scale of satisfaction about their smile, the aesthetic component of the Index of Orthodontic Treatment Need (IOTN) for students to compare with their smile, and a scale for facial profile comparison. The chi-squared test was applied using the SPSS 13.0 software and all analyzes were performed with 95% confidence (p < 0.05). Results: A total of 253 questionnaires were distributed and 166 were filled out. Among those, 103 people reported having had orthodontic treatment before. The level of satisfaction with their own smile was high, reaching 78% in the first year of the course, 63% in the second, 87% in the third, and 72% in the fourth year. There was a preference for a slightly convex profile for both genders. It is observed that 62% of the sample reported having been submitted to orthodontic treatment before and the percentage of white students who had received previous orthodontic treatment was substantially higher than other ethnicities. The qui-square test found a significant statistical difference in ethnicity among students that had received previous orthodontic treatment (p=0.008). Conclusion: There was no difference in the aesthetic perception of the smile and profile in relation to the year attended by dental school students, with the level of satisfaction with their own smile being high.