Influence of Dental Education on the Perception of Dental Aesthetics among Undergraduate Dental Students in a Nigerian University

Background: Literature has shown the existence of difference in perception of esthetics between dentists and lay people. Could this difference be attributable to undergraduate dental education? This study aims to determine the influence of dental education on the relative perception of dental aesthetics among undergraduate dental students.Materials and methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out amongst all dental students attending a Nigerian University. The dental aesthetics selfperception questionnaire originally designed by Goldstein was administered to subjects. The data were subjected to descriptive analysis. Independent sample t-test and one-way analysis of variance were used to compare means across groups. Due to the multiple comparisons a post-hoc test (Bonferoni) was carried out with the one-way analysis of variance. Chi square was used to determine association between variables with p set at 0.05.Results: A total of 132 students participated in the study. Majority (91.7%) were self-confident about smiling. More than half (54.5%) of the  respondents believed there was someone with a better smile. With regards to wish of whiter teeth, 67.4% wished their teeth were whiter. The aesthetic self-perception scores of the respondents ranged from 0-12 with a mean score of 4.28± 2.64. There was no statistically significant association between the mean aesthetic self-perception score and the level of study of the participants. Conclusion: A positive aesthetic self-perception was observed in dental students when it comes to their smile. However, there was no statistically significant association between the level of study of the respondents and the self-perception of dental student.