Autopercepção da estética do sorriso dos graduandos de Odontologia de uma Instituição Federal de Ensino Superior.

Abstract

It is undeniable that smile aesthetics has been increasingly valued. Depending on what an individual considers a beautiful smile and what it represents in his or her life, the dissatisfaction with one or more characteristics of the smile leads to problems of self-esteem and self-image, which, in turn, motivates the individual to seek aesthetic dentistry in order to feel more beautiful, confident and accepted. The present study aimed to evaluate the self-perception of the smile of undergraduate dental students at the Federal University of Campina Grande, Patos campus, Paraíba. Data collection was performed using a questionnaire directed at undergraduate students from the 1st to 10th periods of the Dentistry Course, encompassing questions about the self-perception of smile aesthetics. It was found that 64% of the participants are satisfied with their smile, and that 51.6% are confident and secure in relation to it. However, 89.4% would like to change something, and 88.5% would like to undergo some aesthetic dental treatment, with the color (66.6%), position (42.5%) and shape (30.3%) of the teeth being the most desired changes, respectively. Thus, it was possible to conclude that the participants, despite being satisfied with their smile, reported wanting to make some changes in their teeth, which shows a certain concern with their appearance.