Assessment of Orthodontic patients' expectations before orthodontic treatment: Part I

Conventional orthodontic treatment may affect on physical appearance and psychological aspect of patients. However, patient's attitude, expectations and self - concept influence the result of treatment. The aim of this study was to evaluate the expectations and self - concepts of patients referred to have orthodontic treatment to a private office and Shahid Beheshti, Dental School. Materials & To evaluate patient's expectations and self-concept, a questionnaire consisting of 13 close and 2 open questions was prepared. To determine whether the problems of patients are realistic, an orthodontist visited all patients and recorded the findings on a structured questionnaire. In addition some variables that might influence the score that patients recorded to evaluate their own dental esthetic were analyzed. To analyze the data, Chi-square, t test, ANOVA, Kappa statistic and multi-variable linear regression model were used. Totally 252 individuals (92 males and 160 females) were evaluated. The most common orthodontic disharmony according to patient's view was irregularity in upper and lower front teeth (51.6%). Social problems were not common, but more than half of the girls sometimes had experienced shyness when laughing, due to their dental appearance. The patients' mean score to their own dental esthetic was 6.4±1.9, ranged from 0 to 10. This score was related to occlusion problems more than other variables. The patients did not diagnose their occlusion problems properly. Nevertheless they had not low self - esteem.