Region of Chief Complaint is Associated With Aesthetic Expectation in Prosthodontic Patients: A Cross-Sectional Study.

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to explore the association between aesthetic expectation and possible variables such as region of chief complaint, gender, age, chief complaint, duration and its influencing mechanism. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: One hundred and ninety-four patients seeking prosthodontic treatment were recruited and completed the questionnaires including the Oral Health Impact Profile 5-item (OHIP-5), the Stigma Scale for Chronic Illness 8-item (SSCI-8), the Generalised Anxiety Disorder 7-item (GAD-7), the Psychosocial Impact of Dental Aesthetics Questionnaire 23-item (PIDAQ-23), aesthetic expectation and other demographic and disease-related information. RESULTS: Aesthetic expectation showed significant correlations with region of chief complaint (r = 0.363, p < 0.001). Multiple linear regression analysis after stratified analysis showed that aesthetic expectation was significantly positively related to social impact (1.10, 95% CI [0.30, 1.91], p = 0.009), aesthetic concern (1.29, 95% CI [0.19, 2.40], p = 0.025) and dental self-confidence (0.94, 95% CI [0.35, 1.54], p = 0.003) while presenting a negative correlation with psychological impact (-1.24, 95% CI [-2.53, 0.05], p = 0.065) only in prosthodontic patients of aesthetic zone. Mediation analysis revealed a significant direct association between aesthetic expectation and the aesthetic zone (0.77, 95% CI [0.03, 1.53]), as well as between the aesthetic zone and the nonaesthetic zone (1.17, 95% CI [0.33, 2.00]) via PIDAQ-23. A significant indirect association between aesthetic expectation and the aesthetic zone (0.76, 95% CI [0.41, 1.17]) as well as between the aesthetic zone and the nonaesthetic zone (1.06, 95% CI [063, 1.56]) via PIDAQ-23 was also observed. CONCLUSION: Region of chief complaint is associated with aesthetic expectation via PIDAQ-23 in prosthodontic patients. Researchers and dentists should take region of chief complaint and psychosocial impact into account when using aesthetic expectations for aesthetic analysis.