Dental aesthetic alterations in patients rehabilitated with prostheses

Introduction: Aesthetics is the discipline that studies the nature of beauty and its perception. This term has been used in dentistry, which is one of the most in-demand specialties, undergoing intense and continuous evolution over time. Objective: To characterize dental aesthetic alterations in patients rehabilitated with fixed partial dentures (FPDs). Methods: An observational, descriptive, and cross-sectional study was conducted on patients who attended the Prosthodontics Service of the "Antonio Briones Montoto" Stomatological Clinic, Pinar del Río, during the period 2023-2025, to receive treatment with partial dentures. Population: all patients treated in said service during the aforementioned period (N=542). Purposive sample (n=438) based on expert judgment and inclusion criteria defined for the study. Results: Females predominated (69.8%), as did the 35-59 age group (43.4%). The main aesthetic dental alterations observed were associated with tooth loss due to caries (64.8%) and trauma (49.3%). The majority of patients received individual extracoronal treatments (57.1%) and individual intraradicular restorations of crowns with posts (27.6%). Conclusions: Dental aesthetic alterations were common in the fourth and fifth decades of life, primarily in women; where tooth loss due to caries and trauma were the most frequent causes. Among the main therapeutic alternatives applied were single-tooth extracoronal restorations, achieving the recovery of phonetic, masticatory, and aesthetic functions in these patients.