Different Esthetic Assessment of Anterior Restorations by Patient and Expert: A Prospective Clinical Study

Background: Esthetically pleasing, bright teeth and a symmetrical dental arch are of great importance. There are only a few scientific studies that compare the evaluation of anterior restorations by experts and patients. Additionally, there are hardly any studies that deal with the weighting of esthetic parameters.

Objective: The current study was performed to test the hypothesis that patients and experts evaluate anterior restorations differently and place their emphasis differently. Therefore, aim of this prospective study was to compare the evaluation of the red and white esthetics of anterior restorations by patients and an expert and to find out which parameters play an important role in the evaluation of the esthetic appearance of anterior restorations.

Material and methods: Anterior restorations of 21 patients were analyzed. All patients evaluated their own restorations using a questionnaire of ten defined parameters (pink esthetic score, PES and the white esthetic score, WES). Additionally, the questionnaire was used to determine how important the individual parameters are for them in relation to the assessment of the esthetic result. An expert also gave her assessment and weighting for all 21 patients.

Results: The statistical analysis of the questionnaires shows that the expert assigned lower values, particularly in the evaluation of the PES. The expert weighted individual parameters of the PES to be more important than the patients. The type of abutment of the restoration (tooth or implant) had no influence on the evaluation of the restorations.

Discussion/conclusion: The study shows that patients and experts have different assessments of the esthetics and the weighting of the various parameters. Nevertheless, patients are sensitive to esthetic deviations and patient preferences should be taken into account in anterior restorations.