CASE STUDY By Humberto Nunez-Gil, DDS D uring adolescence, a teenager’s facial features and appearance play a major role towards their self-perceived appearance. 1,2 Many adolescent’s social relationships are directly dependent on physi-cal attractiveness, 3 hence perform-ing aesthetic alteration will have a direct impact on their self-esteem and ultimately their qual-ity of life. 4,5 However, there are very limited studies which provide us with evidence to suggest that self-esteem is enhanced after orthodontic treat-ment. 6,7 As self-esteem is more of a psychological concept, even the common dental disorders like dental trauma, tooth loss and untreated carious lesions may affect an adolescent’s self-esteem. It may further influence the quality of life for an individual. The following is a case report involving a 12-year-old female patient who presented at her first visit to our office demonstrating a very self-conscious, and ill-at-ease image regarding her dental appear-ance which was resulting in a low self-esteem. She was also trauma-tized due to the word "surgery'' being mentioned at a previous visit by another dentist who felt that this option was a way to correct her aesthetic issues. For this reason, at every single appointment, the patient would ask if she would still need surgery. After undergoing orthodontic treat-ment, that same patient seemed to be more secure and positive regarding her smile. As we continued to reassure her that surgery was off the table as an option, her confidence in herself and dentistry grew deeper and deeper. Case Presentation: Diagnosis & Etiology Medical and dental history: Hailey De La Rosa presented to my office at age 12 years and 9 months with the chief complaint of “I do not like my smile.” (Fig. 1) Following our consultation, it was noted that her medical history was unremarkable with no known allergies, medications or medical complications. Fig. 1 Fig. 2 20 Winter 2023 JAOS
Journal of the American Orthodontic Society Winter 2023: Page 20
