Satisfaction, Awareness and Attitude about Oral Aesthetics among Female High School Students in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: A Cross-sectional Study

Introduction: Aim of the study is to determine the level of dental satisfaction, awareness, and attitude among 3rd year female high school students of Riyadh. As it is important to detect the level or awareness and attitude at young age so that they all can benefit more from the early treatment plan and as females are more conscious towards overall aesthetic we therefore aimed to recruit female participants only in order to evaluate the level of concerns regarding oral aesthetics. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 501 female students in 6 different high schools of Riyadh. A structured questionnaire was used to identify the students’ score about the level of satisfaction, awareness, and attitude towards their dental appearance. The results and statistics were carried out by using the SPSS software version 20. Results: Among those surveyed, (82.2%) were satisfied with their dental appearance, (81.6%) had good awareness and (58.9%) had negative attitude. The most undergone treatment among the students was orthodontic treatments (62.6%). The most desired treatment was teeth whitening (52.8%) followed by orthodontic treatments (18.2%). The mother’s level of education and income were significantly related to the awareness level (0.001 and 0.004 respectively). Conclusion: Through this cross-sectional study conducted on 501 female students we concluded that more than three fourth of the students were satisfied with their dental appearance and are aware about the oral health; however, more than half had negative attitude towards the oral aesthetics. Mother’s level of education and family income were related to awareness level of the students. Strategies should be formulated based on evidences to improve the attitude of young students towards dental aesthetics.