Dental aesthetics — a survey of attitudes in different groups of patients

Abstract

Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the attitudes of various groups of patients towards the appearance of their teeth. Methods: A questionnaire was used which consisted of six background variables and 13 attitudinal statements concerning the appearance of the teeth. The number of responses obtained was 254. Multiple regression analysis was undertaken to reveal any statistical associations between the answers to the statements and the background variables. Results: According to the results, the appearance of the teeth was found to be more important to women than to men. For older patients, the appearance of teeth was not as important as for younger patients ( r = −0.144, P = 0.012). Patients with limited education had a greater preference for white teeth than patients with a high level of education ( r = 0.115, P = 0.037). The perception that very white teeth are beautiful decreased with increasing age ( r = 0.112, P = 0.049), and younger patients expressed a greater preference for white teeth than older patients ( r = 0.11, P = 0.050). Conclusion: This study suggests that various groups of patients have different attitudes towards the appearance of their teeth.