Dental aesthetics and peer relations

In this project, Dr Lindsey Cameron, consultant orthodontist Andrew Dibiase and Professor Adam Rutland are exploring the relationship between peer relations, bullying and dental alignment and appearance.

The results will give a new perspective on the relationships between dental misalignment and aesthetics and quality of peer relations, including instances of bullying. The findings may have important implications that inform access to free orthodontic treatment.

Staff profile: Dr Lindsey Cameron

About

The current guidelines for accessing free orthodontic treatment are based solely on physical characteristics of the teeth. However, many orthodontic patients report being victimised or bullied due to their teeth. Victimisation due to malocclusions (i.e. misaligned teeth) is high in 10-14-year-olds and could indicate significant levels of preventable negative affect.

This research explores whether these effects permeate more aspects of children’s lives. By conducting a cross-sectional study looking a range of measures including self-esteem, loneliness at school, self-perception of teeth and incidents of victimisation, we are aiming to gain a clearer understanding of the social impacts of malocclusion.

It is well known that bullying experiences will lead a to high risk of negative life outcomes (Eriksen, Nielsen & Simonsen, 2014). If therefore, malocclusion leads to negative social experiences, there is a case to be made for access to free orthodontic treatment being informed by both social and physical factors.


Research objectives 

The primary objectives were: 

  • To examine the relationship between reported peer-relations and ratings of malocclusion (misaligned teeth) in a non-clinical population
  • To understand how 10-14-year-olds view the impact of their teeth on their daily life
  • To understand whether people feel that orthodontic treatment changes who they interact with others socially

Programme and methodology 

  • Large-scale surveys 
  • In-depth interviews

Findings 

A preliminary analysis shows that:

  • Orthodontic ratings are predictive of number of bullying incidents in the last 3 months
  • Self esteem ratings are predictive of number of bullying incidents in the last 3 months 
  • Further analysis of these results and of the second phase of the research will further elucidate the relationships between these variables.

Impact 

This importance of this project cannot be understated. This issue has been looked at clinically, but these findings lack the breadth of experience and dental range needed to inform NHS policy on free access to orthodontic treatment and whether this should include criteria on the social impact of malocclusion.