Prevalence and influence of dental development anomalies in smile esthetics

Abstract

Aim: To determine the prevalence of dental development anomalies and type of influence on the smile of adolescent students. Method: This was a cross-sectional and analytical study carried out in two public (A1) and two private (A2) schools chosen by lot in the city of Parnaíba-Piauí. The sample calculation was based on the target population: number of people enrolled in public and private schools between 15 and 19 years, in the city of Parnaíba-PI, which totaled 6209 students in 2020, according to a survey carried out by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics – IBGE. A questionnaire on epidemiological data and aesthetic self-perception of the smile was applied to 160 adolescents between 15 and 19 years old, from August 2020 to July 2021. The clinical examination was carried out under natural light, to check for the presence of anomaly(s) in the dental development. Students who presented only one pathology would be called group 1 (G1), those who presented two would be called group 2 (G2) and those who presented 3 or more would be called group 3 (G3). On the other hand, adolescents in whom no anomaly was evidenced would participate in the control group (CG), both in A1 and A2. Results: It was observed that 37.5% of the sample had only a type of dental anomaly, corresponding to 60 individuals. The most prevalent were enamel hypoplasia, fusion, transposition, agenesis, ectopic eruption, microdent and dens-in-dent. It was possible to verify a higher prevalence in the maxilla, private schools (76.6%) and females (86.6%). In 45% of adolescents with dental anomalies, embarrassment was observed when smiling. Conclusion: The prevalence was relatively high, highlighting the enamel hypoplasia, influencing the smile esthetics of a reasonable number of adolescents, whether for acquaintances, strangers or even for photographs.