the aim of this survey was to compare chinese natives and foreign inhabitants in chengdu , china , with respect to : ( 1 ) attitudes towards dental appearance , ( 2 ) subjective orthodontic treatment need , and ( 3 ) the main factors influencing orthodontic treatment need . a total of 522 subjects , including 227 foreign inhabitants and 295 chinese natives in chengdu participated in the survey . a simple random sampling method was adopted and a face - to - face interview was conducted at some public sites using a questionnaire . data was entered by two persons synchronously using epidata 3.0 , and spss 13.0 was used to analyze these data . 89.0% of foreign inhabitants were satisfied with their teeth compared to only 46.8% of chinese natives . chinese natives put improving appearance as the top priority ( 55.9% ) for seeking orthodontic treatment ; however , in foreign inhabitants , the main reason for seeking treatment was to improve masticatory function ( 44.1% ) , followed by  to be pretty  ( 35.2% ) . the importance of well - aligned teeth and self - perception of psycho - social impact of malocclusion were the same two main factors influencing subjective orthodontic treatment need ( p<0.05 ) in foreign inhabitants and chinese natives . subjective orthodontic treatment need between the two target groups was significantly different ( p<0.05 ) . ( 1 ) it was very common that chinese natives were dissatisfied with their dental appearance , and their subjective orthodontic treatment needs were high . ( 2 ) there were some differences in orthodontic treatment motives between the two target groups . ( 3 ) there were differences in subjective orthodontic treatment needs between foreign inhabitants and chinese natives .
aimthe aim of this survey was to compare chinese natives and foreign inhabitants in chengdu , china , with respect to : ( 1 ) attitudes towards dental appearance , ( 2 ) subjective orthodontic treatment need , and ( 3 ) the main factors influencing orthodontic treatment need.methodologya total of 522 subjects , including 227 foreign inhabitants and 295 chinese natives in chengdu participated in the survey . 
 a simple random sampling method was adopted and a face - to - face interview was conducted at some public sites using a questionnaire . 
 data was entered by two persons synchronously using epidata 3.0 , and spss 13.0 was used to analyze these data.results89.0% of foreign inhabitants were satisfied with their teeth compared to only 46.8% of chinese natives . 
 females were more dissatisfied with their teeth than males . 
 chinese natives put improving appearance as the top priority ( 55.9% ) for seeking orthodontic treatment ; however , in foreign inhabitants , the main reason for seeking treatment was to improve masticatory function ( 44.1% ) , followed by  to be pretty  ( 35.2% ) . the importance of well - aligned teeth and self - perception of psycho - social impact of malocclusion 
 were the same two main factors influencing subjective orthodontic treatment need ( p<0.05 ) in foreign inhabitants and chinese natives . 
 subjective orthodontic treatment need between the two target groups was significantly different ( p<0.05).conclusion(1 ) it was very common that chinese natives were dissatisfied with their dental appearance , and their subjective orthodontic treatment needs were high . 
 ( 2 ) there were some differences in orthodontic treatment motives between the two target groups . 
 ( 3 ) there were differences in subjective orthodontic treatment needs between foreign inhabitants and chinese natives . 
 however , the prominent influential factors were almost the same 
 . there may be benefit to understanding subjective orthodontic needs of different races .