S. Sarin, D. Gilbert and K. Asimakopoulou
Context
- The provision of general dental care has seen a paradigm shift in recent years.(1 )
- This shift is due in part to new materials and bonding techniques but also due to the appetite of the public who now request an aesthetic result for all their treatment, be it a simple filling or denture replacing teeth in the aesthetic zone, through to more complex procedures requiring multiple indirect restorations.(2)
- The psychological profile of patients undergoing aesthetic dental procedures has been linked to improvements in clinical practice in the area. For example, understanding a patient’s psychological profile and motives for orthodontic treatment can improve clinician-patient communication and might be predictive of patient satisfaction. (3)
- Although personality traits may be predictive of satisfaction with dental procedures, work in this area has not considered the role that patients’ pre-treatment satisfaction levels with their overall appearance may play on their evaluation of outcome.
- The significance of this idea for clinical practice lies in the fact that whereas personality is said to be fixed and stable, (4) satisfaction with one’s face and body is modifiable and an area that dental professionals can readily influence.
Purpose of the Study
This study examines the role of personality and pre-treatment satisfaction with body and face in predicting post-aesthetic dental treatment satisfaction.
Key Findings
- As expected, following simple aesthetic dental treatment patients were generally more satisfied with their face but also with their body overall, than before treatment.
- A significant correlation between neuroticism and general satisfaction with face and body was seen where those high in neuroticism were generally unhappier with their appearance both before and after treatment.
- The more content patients were generally with their body pre-treatment the more satisfied they seemed after treatment irrespective of personality.
- Of significant practical clinical use is the fact that pre-treatment satisfaction with one’s face and body is a reliable predictor of post-treatment satisfaction. Unlike personality traits that are resistant to change, satisfaction with one’s appearance is malleable. (5) As such, it would be useful to spend time assessing patients’ satisfaction with their appearance pre-operatively and ensuring that a patient is as clear about the positive, aspects of their facial appearance as possible, before engaging in dental treatment.
References
- Theobald A H, Wong B K, Quick A N, Thomson W M. The impact of the popular media on cosmetic dentistry. N Z Dent J 2006; 102: 58–63.
- Terry D A, Geller W. Esthetic and restorative dentistry: material selection and technique. Hanover Park, IL: Quintessence Publishing, 2013.
- Pabari S, Moles D R, Cunningham S J. Assessment of motivation and psychological characteristics of adult orthodontic patients. Am J Orthod Dentofacial Orthop 2011; 140: e263–272.
- Soldz S, Vaillant G E. The big five personality traits and the life course: a 45-year longitudinal study. J Res Pers 1999; 33: 208–232.
- Newton J T, Minhas G. Exposure to ‘ideal’ facial images reduces facial satisfaction: an experimental study. Community Dent Oral Epidemiol 2005; 33: 410–418.
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Nice Article! Thanks for sharing It.