Patient's Perception on the Esthetic Outcome of Anterior Fixed Prosthetic Treatment.

OVERVIEW Patient's perception to the esthetic result of the treatment received can be different from a dentist opinion. Understanding patient's opinion, demand and expectation is part of successful treatment procedure. OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to investigate patient's opinion about the esthetic result of the fixed prosthetic treatment received in upper anterior teeth. MATERIALS AND METHODS About 90 volunteer subjects, 58 males and 32 females were given a self-evaluation questionnaire with 11 questions to respond as Yes or No. The questions regarded the esthetic result of a fixed prosthodontic treatment received for their upper anterior teeth. The same questioner was completed for each subject by three clinicians through clinical photographs for different views of subject's smile. Agreement between patients and clinicians was calculated for all subjects to evaluate patient's perception to their esthetic results. RESULTS An agreement of 47.8 to 72.2% was observed between patients and clinicians, and the average agreement was 53.64 to 60%. The highest agreement was related to satisfaction with the color of the crown and/or bridge margin while the least agreement was related to the satisfaction with the natural looking of the restoration. CONCLUSION There was variability in the agreement between the patients and the dentists with the satisfaction of the esthetic result of anterior restoration. Factor, such as gender, age and educational level may affect the results of the agreement.