Perception of orofacial appearance among laypersons with diverse social and demographic status

Mohammed Nasser Alhajj; Zaihan Ariffin; Asja Celebić; Abdulaziz A Alkheraif; Abdullah G Amran; Ibrahim A Ismail

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0239232

Perception of orofacial appearance among laypersons with diverse social and demographic status

PLoS One. 2020 Sep 17;15(9):e0239232. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0239232. eCollection 2020.

Authors

Mohammed Nasser Alhajj¹, Zaihan Ariffin², Asja Celebić³, Abdulaziz A Alkheraif⁴, Abdullah G Amran⁵, Ibrahim A Ismail⁶

Affiliations

¹ Department of Prosthodontics, Faculty of Dentistry, Thamar University, Dhamar, Yemen.
² Prosthodontics Unit, School of Dental Sciences, Heath Campus, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Kelantan, Malaysia.
³ Department of Removable Prosthodontics, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia.
⁴ Dental Biomaterials Research Chair, Dental Health Department, College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
⁵ Department of Periodontics, Faculty of Dentistry, Thamar University, Dhamar, Yemen.
⁶ Department of Oral Rehabilitation, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Khartoum, Khartoum, Sudan.

Abstract

Background: The perception of dentofacial esthetics differs considerably between patients and dentists. Patient's expectations regarding his/her esthetics are important and should be assessed ahead of any planning of esthetic treatment. The aim of this study was to explore the differences in perception of orofacial appearance by laypersons with different social and demographic status.

Materials and methods: Self-administered questionnaires were distributed to 400 subjects. The questionnaire comprised three parts; the first part addressed the demographic variables. The second part queried about dental prosthesis, orthognathic or plastic surgery, and/or ongoing or previous orthodontic treatment. The third part included the Arabic version of the-8-item Orofacial Esthetic Scale (OES-Ar) whose responses were scored in the 5-point Likert scale. These scores were compared by different grouping factors (age, gender, marital status, and education) using non-parametric Mann-Whitney U and Kruskal Willis tests with 95% confidence interval (α > 0.05).

Results: A total of 268 questionnaires were eligible for analysis, representing 67% response rate. The satisfaction with facial profile appearance was the highest (4.0±1.1) followed by facial appearance (3.9±1.1), while the color of teeth was the least satisfying item (3.1±1.3). No significant differences were found between age groups for the mean summary score as well as for each item independently. No significant difference was found between both sexes except for the last item "overall impression". Married subjects rated one item (alignment of teeth) better than their counterparts. Positive perception of orofacial appearance increased significantly with the increase of education level, the perception of the oral health status, and the perception of the general health status.

Conclusion: Good oral health and/or high education level are significant determinants of more positive perception of orofacial esthetic appearance. Patients with these characteristics might be more concerned about their orofacial appearance, and this should be taken into consideration before planning any esthetic restorative dental treatment.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adult
Age Factors
Arab World
Attitude*
Dentofacial Deformities / psychology*
Educational Status
Female
Humans
Male
Perception
Sex Factors
Surveys and Questionnaires

Grants and funding

The authors are grateful to the Deanship of Scientific Research, King Saud University for funding through the Vice Deanship of Scientific Research for Research Chairs. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.