Lay person's perception of smile aesthetics in dental and facial views

Abstract

Objective: To compare the aesthetic perception of different anterior visible occlusions in different facial and dental views (frontal view, lower facial third view and dental view) by lay persons.

Design: Cross-sectional survey, Lima, Peru, 2002.

Subjects: The different views were rated by 91 randomly selected adult lay persons.

Main outcome measurement: Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) ratings of aesthetic perception of the views.

Results: Anterior visible occlusion, photographed subject and view (p<0.001) had a significant effect on the aesthetic ratings. Also gender (p=0.001) and the interaction between gender and level of education (p=0.046) had a significant effect over the aesthetic rating.

Conclusions: A lay panel perceived that the aesthetic impact of the visible anterior occlusion was greater in a dental view compared with a full facial view. The anterior visible occlusion, photographed subject, view type are factors, which influence the aesthetic perception of smiles. In addition, gender and level of education had an influence.