Differences in psychological traits between lingual and labial orthodontic patients: Perfectionism,body image,and the impact of dental esthetics

Objective:To examine some of the patients'' psychological traits in relation to their levels of perfectionism and their body image, and to discover whether these differ between lingual and labial orthodontic patients.Materials and Methods:A cross-sectional study was designed with a consecutive sample of 80 patients attending a private orthodontic office. Three questionnaires were used to assess the patients'' body image and level of perfectionism. The mean age was 33 years. The men numbered 32 and the women 48. The validated Spanish version of the Psychosocial Impact of Dental Aesthetic Questionnaire (PIDAQ) was used to assess the psychosocial impact of their dental esthetics. The Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale (MPS) was used to assess how perfectionist the patients were. A version of the Multidimensional Body-Self Relations Questionnaire (MBSRQ) was used for assessment of their body image. Student''s t-test was used to compare the means and 95% confidence intervals (P < .05), and a logistic regression model was used for multivariate analysis.Results:The PIDAQ (55.4 vs 60, P  =  .218) and MBSRQ (128.7 vs 125.9, P  =  .523) results of the patients who chose lingual orthodontics did not differ significantly from those who opted for labial orthodontics. However, the MPS scores of the lingual orthodontic patients were significantly higher (95.9 vs 86.3, P  =  .044), and high social class, over 30 years of age, and perfectionist traits were significant independent variables in this group.Conclusions:This pilot study may indicate that lingual orthodontic patients are more perfectionists than labial orthodontic patients.