Public approach and responsiveness to tooth bleaching among adults in Saudi Arabia

Advances in restorative dentistry have made many tooth whitening techniques economical and cost effective both in developed and developing countries. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the attitude and awareness of tooth bleaching among a sample of adults attending shopping malls in Riyadh city, Saudi Arabia. A cross sectional survey was performed in four major malls located in different regions of Riyadh city in Saudi Arabia. A total of 520 adult visitors were randomly selected to participate in this study. In addition, 82 dentists were requested to participate in the study. Knowledge and attitude toward teeth color and dental bleaching were assessed by using self-administered and pretested questionnaire. Descriptive statistics were carried out to express participant’s sociodemographic information. Multivariate logistic regression analysis (using enter method) and chi-square tests were used to identify independent predictors of positive attitudes toward dental bleaching. A total of 55.8% of male and 44.2% female responded to the questionnaire. Among all the respondents 67.4% were not satisfied with their tooth color and 77.7% were willing to undergo tooth whitening procedure. Females showed more positive attitude towards tooth bleaching (odd ratio (OR) 1.9, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.181-3.166). Participants rated with having excellent, good and fair knowledge exhibited positive attitude toward tooth bleaching compared to participants with poor knowledge (OR: 8.4, 3.4, and 2.0; 95% CIs: 3.31-21.18, 1.81-6.36, and 1.08-3.76). The results depict that majority of the study participants were not satisfied with their tooth color and were willing to undergo tooth whitening procedures. Additionally, gender differences were observed with regards to the attitude towards bleaching. Moreover, participants who had the knowledge of tooth color showed more positive attitude towards tooth bleaching.