Personal Factors Determining Patient Satisfaction with All-Ceramic Crown Treatment for Single Anterior Teeth.

The Eysenck Personality Questionnaire's (EPQ) N value (neuroticism) was used to evaluate information from 158 patients before ceramic crown treatment. Patient satisfaction was also evaluated using a satisfaction questionnaire 2 weeks post treatment. Patient expectations were not correlated with sex, age, or N value, and sex was not correlated with patient satisfaction other than in relation to crown shape. Total esthetic satisfaction and feature improvement were positively correlated with age, while satisfaction for five specific criteria was negatively correlated with N value and overall expectation. These observations underscore the importance of considering the physical and psychologic aspects of patient care when planning dental treatment.

Perception of dental esthetics: influence of restoration type, symmetry, and color in four different countries.

In this study, the influence of restoration type, symmetry, and color on the perception of dental appearance was evaluated. An esthetic questionnaire was completed by 29 patients before and after esthetic rehabilitation. In addition, 94 dentists from four countries (Germany, the United Kingdom [UK], China, and Switzerland) evaluated the influence of the above factors using before-and-after rehabilitation pictures. The most invasive treatment was recommended by Chinese dentists, while German, Swiss, and UK dentists recommended comparable treatment options. As for restorative symmetry, restoration type, and color, significant differences could be found among and within the dentists of the four countries (P ± .05).

Comparative analysis of rationale used by dentists and patient for final esthetic outcome of dental treatment.

AIM: To compare and evaluate the perceptions of esthetics among dentists and patients regarding the final esthetic outcome of a dental treatment. BACKGROUND: Esthetics is a matter of perception and is associated with the way different people look at an object. What constitutes esthetic for a particular person may not be acceptable for another. Hence it is subjective in nature. This becomes more obvious during the post-treatment evaluation of esthetics by dentist and the concerned patient. Opinion seldom matches. Hence, the study is a necessary part of the process of understanding the mind of dentist and patient regarding what constitutes esthetics. TECHNIQUE: A survey has been conducted by means of a questionnaire consisting of 10 questions, on two groups of people. First group consists of 100 dentists picked at random in Kanyakumari district of Tamil Nadu, India. Second group consisted of 100 patients who required complete denture prosthesis. The second group was divided into two subgroups A and B. Subgroup A consisting of 50 men and subgroup B consisting of 50 women. In each subgroup 25 patients were selected in age group of 40 to 50 and 25 patients were selected in the age group of 50 to 60. The questionnaire was given to both the groups and asked to fill up, which was then statistically analyzed to look for patterns of thought process among them. RESULTS: Results were subjected to statistical analysis by Student's t-test. CONCLUSION: Perceptions of esthetics differs from dentist who is educated regarding esthetic principles of treatment and a patient who is not subjected to such education. Since, the questions were formulated such that patients could better understand the underlying problem, the final outcome of survey is a proof that dentists need to take into account what the patient regards as esthetics in order to provide a satisfactory treatment. CLINICAL AND ACADEMIC SIGNIFICANCE: The current study helps the dentist to better educate the patient regarding esthetics so that patient appreciates the final scientifically based esthetic outcome of treatment. It also helps the dental students to understand the underlying patient's thought process regarding esthetics.

Intraoral determination of the tolerance of dentists for perceptibility and acceptability of shade mismatch.

STATEMENT OF PROBLEM: There is little agreement in the dental literature as to how much color difference constitutes an acceptable shade mismatch or how much color difference is considered perceivable to observers. Most studies attempting to determine perceptibility and acceptability of tolerances for shade mismatches have been conducted under in vitro conditions that are not applicable to clinical scenarios. PURPOSE: The goal of this study was to determine valid acceptability and perceptibility tolerances for shade mismatch in an actual clinical scenario using spectroradiometric instrumentation. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A test denture was fabricated that allowed 10 maxillary left central incisors of varying shade mismatch with the right central incisor to be interchanged within the denture base. A spectroradiometer was used to determine the CIELAB coordinates and color differences (DeltaE) between the right central incisor and the interchangeable left central incisor denture teeth. The interchangeable denture teeth ranged uniformly from 1 DeltaE unit (visually undetectable) to greater than 10 DeltaE units (an obvious shade mismatch). The test denture with each of the interchangeable teeth was modeled by a subject to 28 dentists in a clinical setting. For each of the interchangeable teeth, dentist observers were asked if they could see a difference between the central incisors and, if so, whether the difference was acceptable. A Probit regression analysis was used to predict acceptability and perceptibility tolerances with 95% confidence limits. RESULTS: The predicted color difference at which 50% of the dentist observers could perceive a color difference (50/50 perceptibility) was 2.6 DeltaE units. The predicted color difference at which 50% of the subjects would remake the restoration due to color mismatch (clinically unacceptable color match) was 5.5 DeltaE. Acceptability and perceptibility color tolerances at the 50/50 level were significantly different (P<.05), as their 95% confidence limits did not overlap. CONCLUSIONS: Tolerances for perceptibility were significantly lower than tolerances for acceptability for shade mismatch between 2 denture teeth.

Factors influencing tooth shade selection for completely edentulous patients.

AIM: There is limited scientific information on the relationship between tooth shade, age, gender, and skin color in black Africans. This lack of knowledge may impact the ability of the prosthodontist to select artificial teeth for completely edentulous patients. This study explores the possibility of a relationship between tooth shade, gender, age, and skin color in a black African population. METHODS AND MATERIALS: A total of 212 individuals aged 15 to 79 years participated in this study. One investigator, calibrated for examining tooth shade, performed all examinations. A Vita-Lumin shade guide was used to examine either the maxillary right or left central incisor. One had to be sound for inclusion in the study. Tooth shades were divided into two categories according to value, and skin tones were divided into two categories (light, and dark). Chi-square analysis and Fisher's exact tests were used to analyze the data (P< 05). RESULTS: No statistically significant difference was found between tooth shade and skin color and the subjects' perception of their tooth shade. However, a statistically significant difference was found between age and tooth shade (P<.001). There was also a statistically significant difference in tooth shade between men and women. CONCLUSION: Within the limitations of this study, tooth shade value and skin color were not related. However, older adults and men are more likely to have darker teeth.

Shade matching by dental students.

Dental students achieved a high identification rate for darker shades (P14 and P24) on the Portrait IPN shade guide, which represent the highest chroma and lowest value in the grayish and reddish yellow hue groups. A high identification rate was also obtained for P32, representing the lowest chroma and highest value in the reddish gray hue group. The data suggest that dental students had the most difficulty determining the correct hue group for unmarked shade tabs. Incorrect responses tended to remain in the same value and chroma range but were selected in a different hue group.