Perception of children with visible untreated and treated caries.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to analyse if children with untreated or treated caries (restorations/missing teeth) are perceived differently compared to children with healthy teeth and to explore possible differences in the perception by laypersons and dental experts.

METHODS: Eye movements of female experts (n = 20) and laypersons (n = 18) were recorded by eye-tracking while paired images (neutral expression/teeth not visible; emotional expression/smiling, teeth visible) of children with healthy teeth, with visible untreated or treated caries (restorations/missing teeth as a consequence of caries treatment), each n = 13, were presented. First fixation, total fixation time and number of fixations on the areas of interest (eyes, nose, mouth) in the first two seconds of presentation were determined. Furthermore, the images were rated regarding arousal, valence and attractivity. Statistical analysis was performed using Mann-Whitney-U- and Kruskal-Wallis-tests (α = 0.05).

RESULTS: Generally, laypersons spent more time exploring and fixating the eye region than the mouth, while dental experts more often first percept and longer and more often fixated the mouth region, especially in images with emotional expression. Dental experts, but not laypersons, were significantly longer fixating the mouth of children with untreated caries than the mouth of children with healthy teeth in images with emotional expression. When evaluating images with emotional expression, both dental experts and laypersons rated children with healthy teeth to be more attractive, pleasant and calm than children with untreated or treated caries.

CONCLUSIONS: Children with visible treated and untreated caries were differently perceived by laypersons and dental experts than children with healthy teeth.