Related Experiment Videos
Buccal corridors and smile esthetics
Theodore Moore1, Karin A Southard, John S Casko
1College of Dentistry, Department of Orthodontics, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA.
Summary
Lay persons find broader smiles more attractive. Minimal buccal corridors, indicating a broader smile, are preferred esthetically in both men and women.
Area of Science:
- Dentistry
- Aesthetic Dentistry
- Facial Aesthetics
Background:
- Buccal corridors, the space between the teeth and cheeks during smiling, significantly impact smile aesthetics.
- Understanding lay perceptions of smile attractiveness is crucial for orthodontic treatment planning.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the influence of varying buccal corridor widths on perceived smile attractiveness among laypersons.
- To determine if gender influences the perception of smile attractiveness related to buccal corridors.
Main Methods:
- Digital manipulation of full-face smile images from 10 subjects (5 male, 5 female) to create five distinct buccal corridor widths.
- Presentation of 110 randomized image pairings to 30 lay judges for attractiveness comparison.
- Statistical analysis using Wilcoxon signed-rank and rank-sum tests.
Main Results:
- Broader smiles, characterized by minimal buccal corridors (2-10%), were consistently rated as more attractive than narrower smiles with larger buccal corridors (15-28%).
- No statistically significant differences were observed in attractiveness judgments based on the gender of the subjects or the judges.
- Perception of smile attractiveness was primarily linked to the degree of buccal corridor reduction.
Conclusions:
- Minimal buccal corridors are a desirable esthetic characteristic for smiles in both males and females.
- Orthodontic diagnosis and treatment planning should consider minimizing large buccal corridors as a key esthetic objective.
- The findings provide valuable insights for clinicians aiming to enhance smile aesthetics through orthodontic interventions.