Publication:

Association between dental appearance satisfaction and sociodemographic characteristics in Samarinda city, Indonesia

Background Confidence in the appearance of teeth affects a person's physical and psychological health. The appearance of teeth is influenced by factors such as age, gender, educational level and economic status. The aim of this study was to find out the relationship between dental satisfaction and sociodemographic characteristics.

Methods A cross-sectional study has been conducted on 384 people aged 17 to 45 years in Samarinda City, Indonesia. The research instrument is a questionnaire on age, gender, educational level, family income, and six satisfaction questions about tooth appearance. Data analyzed descriptively and tested chi-square.

Results A total of 222 respondents (57.8%) felt dissatisfied with the appearance of their teeth. Respondents with a younger age tend to be 1.262 times more dissatisfied compared to older ones. There was a significant relationship between age and satisfaction with the appearance of the teeth (p=0.017). No significant relationship was found between teeth appearance satisfaction with gender, educational level and economic status. Respondents who did not want to do orthodontic care tended to be 1.920 times more satisfied than those who wanted to do ortodontic treatment. The most desirable treatments respondents wanted to improve dental aesthetics were bleaching (57.6%) and orthodontist treatment (43.2%).

Conclusions There is a significant correlation between teeth appearance satisfaction and age factor in the Samarinda Indonesian population who are 17 to 45 years old; there is a meaningful relationship between desire for orthodontic care and teeth satisfaction.