Relación entre identificación y nivel de conocimiento de parámetros estéticos en estudiantes de odontología de la Universidad Santo Tomás de Bucaramanga

Abstract

Dental aesthetics is an area of dentistry considered today as an essential skill that the dentist must acquire because it is one of the services most in demand by the population and in which there is greater participation by patients in decision making and treatment judgment. Aesthetics are subjective and the ability to identify aesthetic parameters may vary in people, even in the dentist according to their skills. The objective of this study is to evaluate the relationship between the identification of aesthetic parameters and the level of knowledge of these, as established by Pascal Magne, in dental students. A cross-sectional study was conducted at the Faculty of Dentistry of the Santo Tomas University of Bucaramanga, Colombia with dental students who were studying a clinical practical component during the year 2023. To achieve the objective, a cross-sectional study was developed. A questionnaire designed by the students was applied under the guidance of a clinical expert who followed the aesthetic arameters of Pascal Magne. To collect data, an online survey was developed that students could access via a scan code or link. For the questions identifying aesthetic parameters, photographs taken from a specialized book were used and with this input cases were created. Significant differences were found in the proportion of parameter identification and level of knowledge in the case of attributes such as gingival embrasures, gingival zenith and contour, smile line and symmetry, tooth visibility, golden ratio and tooth color. The identification capacity and knowledge of aesthetic parameters in dental students who were already carrying out clinical practices was low; those who identified the parameters better did not always have more knowledge.