[Aestetic dental treatment in present socio-economic conditions and its influence on the oral hygiene and self--esteem of patients based on the survey and clinical research].

INTRODUCTION The 20th century was an era of development in modern dentistry, a time of research on materials and techniques, which led to the establishment of a new field - aesthetic dentistry. The aim of this research was to gain knowledge on the relation between aesthetic dental treatment, oral cavity hygiene and patients' self-esteem in present socio-economic conditions. MATERIAL AND METHODS The research was based on the examination of 50 patients (32 women and 18 men) aged 18-63 with aesthetic dental problems. The research was carried out in three stages: Stage 1. Survey research and clinical examination before treatment. Stage 2. Treatment of patients according to individual schemes in compliance with the concept of aesthetic dental treatment. Stage 3. Survey research and clinical examination carried out 6-12 months after the end of treatment. RESULTS The results of the survey research indicated that the examined individuals were mostly university or high school graduates with a permanent source of income. They, however, claimed that their financial ability influenced the frequency of their visits to the dentist. Most patients described the state of their teeth as satisfactory or even bad. All patients recognized the need for an improvement of the state of their teeth. They expected the treatment to improve the appearance of their teeth and smile as well as their self-esteem. The results of the final survey indicated that the applied treatment completely or partially fulfilled the expectations of patients in all cases. The results of the clinical examination indicated improper hygienic habits and bad state of teeth (high PUW) as well as insufficient state of oral hygiene (high values of Plaque Index - PI1 and Gingival Index - GI1) in the examined group. Most patients had more than four treatment needs and required a complex treatment, which was applied in compliance with the concept of aesthetic dental treatment. Cloinical checkups indicated the elimination of improper hygienic habits and a considerable improvement of the oral hygiene in the examined group (low values of PI2 and GI2). CONCLUSIONS The applied dental treatment vitally influenced on patients' self-esteem. The result of the treatment was evaluated as good or very good by most patients. The evaluation done by the dentist was close to the results of patients' self-evaluation.