Association between Demographic Profile, Type of School and Dental Appearance Affecting Choice of Spouse among Undergraduates in Enugu, Nigeria

Abstract

Background: Aspects of life such as social interactions and choice of partners can be influenced by human appearance. This study identified the effect of dental appearance on the choice of spouse among undergraduate students in Enugu. Study Design: This was a descriptive cross sectional study. Place and Duration of Study: The study was at Federal College of Dental Technology and Therapy and Institute of Management and Technology, Enugu, Nigeria. The study lasted for 3 months. Methodology: 402 final year students were recruited for the study but 4(1.0%) submitted incompletely filled questionnaires while 398(99.0%) submitted completely filled questionnaires. The mean age was 22.0± 2.24 years. More females 235(59.0%) than males 163(41.0%) participated in the study. Many were attending dental school 253(63.6%) while 145(36.4%) were attending non dental schools. All 379(95.2%) students who wished to get married believed that dental appearance can influence the choice of spouse. There was significant association between sex (P<0.001) and wish to get married and type of school (P=0.001) and dental appearance affecting choice of spouse. Conclusion: Many of the study participants wished to get married. Those attending dental school will consider dental appearance when making choice of a spouse and scattered teeth will affect the choice of spouse most negatively.