Children’s Social Perception of Peers’ Dento-Facial Condition: A Cross-Sectional Study

AIMS: This study aimed to compare the participant’s perceptions about their peers’ dento-facial condition with different incisal appearances (intact, discoloured, fractured, and avulsed incisors). MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted among schoolchildren of both primary (8-11 years) and secondary (12-14 years) levels. Each participant was asked to judge photographs with one intact and three digitally modified central incisors giving the appearance of a traumatised tooth. Data on perceptions were collected for each condition using 12 attributes (8 positive and 4 negative; scored on a 4 point Likert scale). The positive, negative and total attribute scores were analysed separately by unpaired Student’s t-test. Repeated Measures ANOVA and Bonferroni post hoc analysis was also used. RESULTS: A group of 587 children participated in the study. The perception for intact and traumatised incisors about demographic factors is well appreciated. Among the gender delineation, girls showed a significant difference in judgment between discoloured and fractured incisors. In comparison to intact incisors, positive and total attributable scores were found to be significantly higher (P < 0.001), whereas negative attribute scores were significantly lower (P < 0.001) for traumatised incisors. Pairwise comparison showed high significance (p <0.001) between the intact and traumatised incisor conditions. CONCLUSION: The results demonstrated that visible dental trauma influenced the psychosocial judgment given by children towards their peers. This judgment would, in turn, affect their level of acceptance towards such appearances. Therefore, these conditions ought to be redressed as swiftly as possible. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: The primary purpose of this study was to highlight the psychosocial perceptions of children in judging their peers, regarding not only attractiveness but also intelligence, friendliness, confidence, outgoing nature, etc.