Psychological effects of aesthetic dental treatment.

OBJECTIVE To demonstrate that aesthetic restorative dental treatment, using the porcelain laminate veneer, has a positive effect on the self-esteem of a patient. METHODS A study group of 17 patients, unhappy with their dental appearance, were assessed psychologically at the pre-operative, immediate post operative and 6 month review stages. Porcelain laminate veneer restorations were used to improve the dental aesthetics for the patients in the study group. A comparison group of 27 subjects, without a dental appearance problem, were also psychologically assessed at comparable intervals. The assessments included Cattell's 16PF Personality Inventory, a Body-Esteem index, a computer administered version of the Repertory Grid technique and semi-structured interviews. RESULTS The results showed that there were no significant differences between the study and comparison groups on any first or second-order factor of the 16PF. However, highly significant changes in a positive direction (p < 0.005) were observed in the study group in responses to a Body-Esteem questionnaire at each stage in the procedure. Comparison group changes were not significant. Repertory Grid analyses showed a significant overall convergence in the study group compared with the comparison group. There were also significant positive shifts amongst the study group in the normalised ratings of "self' on several of the constructs. Interviews confirmed the Repertory Grid findings. CONCLUSIONS The study shows that aesthetic restorative treatment has a positive effect on patients' self-esteem.