Community Dental Health

cover art

Cover Date:
September 2016
Print ISSN:
0265 539X
Vol:
33
Issue:
3

The dental public health implications of cosmetic dentistry: a scoping review of the literature

Introduction: The popularity of cosmetic surgery has seen a rapid increase recently, with the trend mirrored in dentistry. The Department of Health expressed concerns about the potential for biological and psychosocial harm of these cosmetic procedures. Furthermore, the dental public health implications (DPH) of the growing uptake of cosmetic dental procedures have not been explored. Objectives: Conduct a scoping review to explore the DPH implications of cosmetic dentistry and identify gaps for future research. Methods: A fivestage scoping review was conducted of studies identified using the search terms cosmetic AND dentistry. Data from the studies meeting the inclusion criteria were extracted, collated and summarised into themes. Results: Fifty-seven papers met the inclusion criteria (11 cross-sectional studies, 10 literature reviews and 36 opinion pieces). The DPH implications were summarised into five emergent themes: dento-legal and ethical, marketing, psychosocial, biological and workforce. These themes revealed patients’ increased expectations, expanding commercialisation of the profession, psychological risks to vulnerable patients, the iatrogenic consequences of invasive cosmetic dental procedures and workforce implications of the current trends. Conclusion: The scoping review found that existing literature on cosmetic dentistry is predominately anecdotal - professional opinions and discussions. Despite this, our findings demonstrated workforce training and governance implications due to increased demand for cosmetic dentistry. Further empirical research is needed to understand the DPH
implications of the increasing demand and uptake of cosmetic dental procedures to guide evidence-based policy to safeguard patients and improve the quality of dental services.

Key words: cosmetic dentistry, aesthetic, dentistry, public health, scoping review, marketing, ethical issues, tooth whitening

doi:10.1922/CDH_3881Doughty07

Article Price
£15.00
Institution Article Price
£
Page Start
218
Page End
224
Authors
J. Doughty, R. Lala, Z. Marshman

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  1. The teaching of Dental Public Health – 50 years on
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  1. The teaching of Dental Public Health and its relation to Children’s Dentistry
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  1. Challenges identified in a pilot outreach dental service for Traveller children in Hackney, East London
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  1. Lay public’s use of a support group for general dental problems
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  1. Understanding avoidance and non-attendance among adolescents in dental care - an integrative review
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  1. Impact of providing free preventive dental products without health workers’ counselling on infants’ tooth-brushing and bottle-feeding termination practices: a randomised controlled trial
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  1. Dental pain and its determinants in an adult population in Tehran, Iran, Urban HEART-2
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