White Spot Lesion–Related Perception of Aesthetics and Treatment Satisfaction Among Orthodontic Patients, Orthodontists, and Other Dental Specialists
TAKE-HOME MESSAGE
- This study evaluated the perception of aesthetics and treatment satisfaction associated with white spot lesions (WSLs) among patients undergoing orthodontic treatment, orthodontists, and other dental specialists. As the severity of orthodontically induced WSLs increased, patients, orthodontists, and other dental specialists tended to assign lower scores for both aesthetic perception and treatment satisfaction. Orthodontists were the most critical regarding slight to severe WSLs without cavitation. Among the patients, those with advanced academic degrees and better oral hygiene practices were more critical regarding the presence of WSLs.
- Few studies have focused on the attitudes of both patients and orthodontists towards WSLs. Orthodontists have the responsibility to instruct patients about the associated risks of orthodontic therapy, and a shared decision–making approach should be adopted in the treatment-planning process.
abstract
This abstract is available on the publisher's site.
Access this abstract nowOBJECTIVE
To investigate the impact of various degrees of white spot lesions (WSLs) of maxillary anterior teeth on the aesthetic perception and treatment satisfaction among orthodontic patients, orthodontists and other dental specialists and to evaluate the differences among the three groups.
METHODS
A total of 45 orthodontic patients (OP), 45 orthodontists (OR) and 45 other dental specialists (OS) were recruited. Subjective evaluations of perceived aesthetics and treatment satisfaction were performed towards eight digitally generated photographs of maxillary anterior teeth with incremental degrees of WSLs using a numerical visual analogue scale (VAS) from 0 to 100. Data were collected and analysed with descriptive statistics, repeated one-way analysis of variance and multivariable generalized estimating equations.
RESULTS
A total of 135 valid questionnaires were collected. Regarding aesthetic scores for WSLs, OP gave more positive scores than OR and OS (p < .05) towards excessive white spot formation without colouration and were more tolerant than OR (p < .05) towards excessive white spot formation with slight colouration. The level of treatment satisfaction for slight to severe WSLs without cavitation was higher in OP than OR. Patients with higher education levels had more negative scores for aesthetic perception and treatment satisfaction (p < .05). Patients who brushed teeth more frequently scored lower in treatment satisfaction (p < .05).
CONCLUSIONS
Orthodontists were the most critical when evaluating aesthetics and treatment satisfaction for slight to severe WSLs without cavitation. For orthodontic patients, better oral hygiene habits and higher education levels were associated with more critical attitudes towards WSLs.
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Additional Info
White spot lesion-related perception of aesthetics and treatment satisfaction among orthodontic patients, orthodontists and other dental specialists
Orthod Craniofac Res 2024 Mar 11;[EPub Ahead of Print], X Huang, D Qin, P Ngan, L Cao, F Hua, H HeFrom MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.