Dentists need the support of health psychologists to enhance patients' satisfaction with their appearance before they embark on aesthetic dental procedures.
These are the findings of a study by Sharmila Sarin, supervised by Koula Asimakopoulou, PhD, and colleagues from King's College London that was presented September 11 at the British Psychological Society Division of Health Psychology's Annual Conference in Brighton, U.K.
In the study, 60 participants completed the Slade Body Satisfaction Scale and a Visual Analogue Scale assessing satisfaction with their appearance before and after their dental work, the researchers reported. They also completed a short version of the Big Five personality test before their operation.
Regardless of the dental procedure performed, people who were happiest about their appearance before receiving aesthetic dental treatment were those who were the happiest after treatment, the researchers found. In addition, dissatisfaction with one's appearance seen in those high on neuroticism persisted after aesthetic dental work.
"We wanted to establish whether personality and the views that people have about their appearance before receiving aesthetic dental treatment would influence satisfaction with the outcomes of aesthetic dental procedures," the researchers stated in a press release. "We found that it is in the patients' and dentists' interest to ensure that patients receiving aesthetic dental work start from as high a point of satisfaction with current appearance as possible. This will enhance the chances that they will be satisfied with the results of aesthetic dental treatment."
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