Other
Anna Juambeltz, DDS
Resident
University of Maryland School of Dentistry, Baltimore, MD
University of Maryland School of Dentistry
Crownsville, Maryland, United States
Keyan Bashiri, Student
University of Maryland School of Dentistry
Thomas Oates, DDS
University of Maryland School of Dentistry
Krishna Patel, Student
University of Maryland School of Dentistry
Kuei-Ling C. Hsu, DDS, MS
Clinical Assistant Professor
University of Maryland School of Dentistry, Baltimore, MD
Baltimore, Maryland, United States
Vineet Dhar, DDS
Program Director
University of Maryland School of Dentistry, Baltimore, MD
Baltimore, Maryland, United States
Authors: Juambeltz A 1, Bashiri K 1, Patel K 1, Oates T 2, Hsu KLC 1
Division of Pediatric Dentistry, University of Maryland School of Dentistry, Baltimore, MD 1
Department of Advanced Oral Science and Therapeutics, University of Maryland School of Dentistry, Baltimore, MD 2
Purpose: To assess the association of dental and sociodemographic factors and psychosocial perspectives on adolescents.
Methods: Pediatric patients aged 10 to 17 years old were surveyed at the University of Maryland School of Dentistry pediatric clinic. Subjects were given a questionnaire containing 24 questions investigating dental self-confidence, social and psychological impact and aesthetic perspectives of their smiles. Dental and sociodemographic parameters such as race, gender, age, presence of a dental home or premature loss of permanent teeth were also collected. Statistical analysis was completed using GraphPad Prism (GraphPad Software). Significant level was set at 0.05.
Results: Seventy-two subjects were surveyed. There were no significant differences found in age and gender with psychosocial perspectives. Subjects with premature tooth lost felt significantly inhibited in social contact because of their teeth (P < .05) compared to those without. Also, subjects without a dental home felt significantly inhibited in social contacts because of their teeth compared to those with a dental home (P < .05). In addition, African-American adolescents were significantly more likely to rate tooth position as very nice, not afraid other people would make offensive remarks about their teeth and did like to see their teeth in the mirror (P < .05) compared to other races.
Conclusion: Race, dental home and premature tooth lost have significant psychosocial impacts on adolescents. Future research is needed due to limited sample size, particularly those adolescents with premature tooth loss.