Perceptions on Facial Profile Aesthetics: A Survey of Young People and Orthodontists.

Abstract

Background: The aim of this study is to understand the perceptions of young non-dental professionals and orthodontists on the aesthetics of facial profile.

Material and methods: Perceptions were assessed using seven types of profile for both sexes, which represented different relations of the maxilla and mandible. In total, 50 young laypeople and 20 orthodontists were randomly selected to evaluate the aesthetics of each profile using numbers 1 to 10 to rank them in order of attractiveness. Aesthetics score was considered as a quantitative variable and comparison between groups was done with an ANOVA, and age and orthodontic treatment history of the evaluators from the young non-dental population was used as covariates to assess its possible effect.

Results: The following female profiles were rated as most aesthetic: protruding jaw (p<.001; R2:21.9%) and retruded jaw (p<.001; R2:22.1%). The following male profiles were rated as most aesthetic: retruded maxilla (p=.001; R2:14.7%), bi-protruding maxilla and mandible (p<.001; R2: 54.4%) and straight maxilla and mandible (p<.05; R2:8.7%). Based on the sex of the evaluator, only significant differences were observed in these two male profiles. The straight profile showed significant differences (p<.10) with a moderate effect (4.3%), and the bi-retruded profile (p<.05) also had a moderate effect (8.5%); these were rated higher by men. Insufficient statistical evidence was found to admit that a history of orthodontic treatment influences aesthetic perception of male or female profiles. For all the variables, evaluators from the young population scored higher than orthodontists for both male and female profiles.

Conclusions: The straight profile was considered more aesthetic for both sexes. Differences in aesthetic perception depending on sex and previous clinical history of orthodontic treatment were minimal. It can be concluded that the young lay population is less demanding in its evaluations than orthodontists. Key words:Orthodontics, facial profile, aesthetic, aesthetic perception.