Gummy Smile Prevalence Among Ha'il City Female Young Adults and Its Impact on Quality of Life: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Abstract

Gummy smile (GS) has a direct effect on individuals, especially among young adults, because of its association with smile avoidance. The younger populations are sensitive about their smiles and prefer aesthetic, beautiful smiles, a lack of which can negatively impact their quality of life. This study aims to measure the GS prevalence among young adults aged 16 to 18 attending high schools in Ha'il City, Saudi Arabia, evaluating oral health related to quality of life (OHQoL) in those suffering GS by using the OHQoL questionnaire (OHIP-14). A cross-sectional study was conducted on 385 female high school students located in Ha'il. Students with GS took a survey on oral health using OHIP-14. For this, SPSS was used to analyze the data. The study included 200 people with GS (52%). The mean age was 18±0.01. The prevalence of GS was analyzed, with a mean value of 4.68±1.2 mm, indicating most students had GS ranging between 4 and 5 mm. The most frequent value for all items in the OHIP-14 questionnaire was 1, indicating that students often had their quality of life affected. The non-parametric Kruskal-Wallis test indicated the results had a significant value (p < 0.05), showing a positive and significant association. Based on the OHIP-14 questionnaire and respecting the methodology, it was concluded that the quality of life has been affected for all female students with GS. The high prevalence for ages 16-18 showed most students agreed their lives were being affected by GS and their condition needed to be treated. It was also confirmed by the significant association of GS with items of oral health and quality of life.