Perceptions of Enamel Opacities Amongst Adult Patients in Hong Kong

Objective: To determine the attractiveness of various photographs of enamel opacities.

Methods: All patients attending the Prince Philip Dental Hospital Reception and Primary Care Clinic in Hong Kong on two randomly selected days were invited to take part in the study. Participants were shown a booklet of computer-generated images of various opacity lesions and asked to score the photographs for attractiveness from 0 (least attractive) to 100 (most attractive) on a visual analogue scale (VAS). One photograph (normal) was repeated to check for reliability. Some socio-demographic information about the subjects was also collected.

Results: Data was collected from 65 adults, 23 males, and 42 females. Their ages ranged from 17 to 86 years. The ranking order for the photographs with the most attractive first was normal (shown for the second time), normal (shown for the first time), demarcated mild asymmetrical, demarcated mild symmetrical, diffuse mild symmetrical, diffuse mild asymmetrical, diffuse moderate asymmetrical, diffuse moderate symmetrical, diffuse severe symmetrical, diffuse severe asymmetrical. The subjects preferred the teeth without defects. The order of the photographs affected their opinions. The normal photograph shown on two occasions, scored differently on each occasion. All mild lesions (diffuse and demarcated) scored over 50 on the VAS for attractiveness

Conclusion: Patients attending a dental hospital are able to rate attractiveness of photographs on a VAS. The order in which the photographs are shown affects their ratings. Ratings depended on severity of lesions, but participants rated all mild DDE shown over half way on the VAS suggesting they found these defects more attractive than unattractive.