An assessment of relationship between self-esteem, orthodontic concern, and Dental Aesthetic Index (DAI) scores among secondary school students in Ibadan, Nigeria

Objective: To ascertain the correlation between self-esteem, orthodontic concern and orthodontic status using DAI scores in a group of Nigerian potential orthodontic patients. Design: A cross-sectional analytical study. Setting: Secondary schools reflecting a good socio-economic spread of adolescents in the town. Participants: Randomly selected 520 junior and senior students 276 (53.1%) males and 244 (46.9%) females with mean age of 15.02+_3.26 (SD) years participated in the study. Methods: Each student was asked to fill in the questionnaire on orthodontic concern and Global Negative Self - Evaluation scale (GSE) with subsequent assessment of the occlusion according to the DAI by one orthodontist. After obtaining consent, thirty students were re-examined to test intra-examiner reliability which was good (r = 0.98, P < 0.001). Results: The correlations between self-esteem, orthodontic concern and DAI scores were tested using Spearman rank order correlation coefficient. Significant positive correlations were observed between self-esteem and orthodontic concern according to DAI treatment category needs (r = 0.274, p<0.01; r = 0.396, p<0.01; r = 0.347, p<0.05) except for the severe malocclusion group which was positive but not statistically significant (r = 0.136, p > 0.05). Significant correlation was equally noted between DAI scores and orthodontic concern (r = 0.191, p< 0.01). Conclusion: Significant positive correlation existed between self-esteem in a group of Nigerian adolescents and their orthodontic concern as well as between their DAI scores and orthodontic concern. DAI should be a relevant and useful occlusal index for the Nigerian orthodontic population.