Association between esthetic parameter and patient satisfaction level with implant-supported dental prosthesis in anterior region

The increasing popularity of dental implants has resulted in rising expectations towards anterior dental implants. The self-evaluation Orofacial Esthetic Scale (OES) measures an individual's satisfaction level towards his/her appearance, meanwhile Pink Esthetic Score and White Esthetic Score (PES/WES) evaluates soft tissue and restoration aspects of anterior dental implants. The yet-undefined association between esthetic parameter and patient satisfaction level causes some difficulties for dentists to produce esthetic restorations that suit every patient's wishes. We examined the association between esthetic parameters and patient satisfaction level with anterior dental implants. Thirty-three individuals (≥17years old) with anterior dental implants evaluated their satisfaction level using OES questionnaire. Intraoral photographs of six anterior teeth from each subject were assessed using PES/WES index. Pearson correlation was used to analyze the association between esthetic parameter and satisfaction level, and effect of sex, implant location, and age > 35years. Spearman correlation was used to analyze the effect of age 17-35years. A medium-strength (r=0.501) positive correlation existed between esthetic parameter and satisfaction level (P=0.03), and this had the greatest impact on female (P=0.03), age > 35years (P=0.01), and maxillary central incisor (P=0.01) groups. A significant correlation exists between esthetic parameter and patient satisfaction level.