Knowledge On Aesthetic Dentistry - A Survey Among Dental Undergraduates

Abstract

Aim-To assess the Knowledge and awareness of aesthetic dentistry among UG students

Background-Esthetic dentistry is generally used to refer to any dental procedure that improves the appearance (not necessarily the functionality) of teeth, gums and/or bite. It mainly focuses on improvement of the  color, position, shape, size, alignment and the overall smile appearance.

Materials and Methods-This hospital based cross sectional study was conducted in a Private Dental College. Responses were collected from 100 UG dental students.The survey consisted of a questionnaire containing 15 questions and was circulated to the students through google forms.The statistical analysis; chi-square test was done using SPSS version 23.Chi square test was used to analyze and comparative bar graphs were plotted and it is statistically significant only if the p value is less than 0.05.

Results- In our study, females (47.06%) have more knowledge and awareness about dental aesthetics when compared to males (39.22%).This may be due to the fact that females are naturally more self-conscious. The association between gender and awareness about aesthetic dentistry was evaluated by pearson chi-square test and the p-value is 0.013 which is statistically significant.

Conclusion-The present study concluded that the UG dental students of Saveetha Dental College have an adequate knowledge and awareness regarding esthetic dentistry. In fact,females have an upper hand than males. This knowledge and awareness can be further improved by conducting workshops,Continuing Dental Education programmes, Social media, internet applications along with theory classes.