midline from the perspective of the layperson and dental surgeon

Aim: The objective of this research was to evaluate the midline from the perspectives of the layperson and the dental surgeon. Methods: The survey was conducted from August to December 2018 in Parnaíba, PI, Brazil. An image of a female smile was used, in which changes were made in the upper dental midline, every 1 mm up to 4 mm, and in the incisal angulation, every 5 degrees up to 15 degrees, to the left side. The images were cut and formed into two groups, one showing a smile with no lip filter (G1) and another with a smile with a lip filter (G2). These were then shown to 334 lay people and 25 dentists for evaluation with scores from 0 to 10, with scores from 0 to 5.9 for an unacceptable smile and from 6 to 10 for an acceptable smile. Results: Dental surgeons were more critical when analyzing the images and detected deviations from 1mm and 5 degrees in both groups G1 and G2. Laypeople noticed deviations from 2mm and 15 degrees on G1 and deviations from 3mm and 10 degrees on G2. Conclusion: Dental surgeons and laypeople are able to assess midline deviations with the minimum deviation present. Dentists were more critical in detecting midline deviation when analyzing photos.