A study of the face recognition ability of orthodontists and lay persons of different age groups

To determine the face recognition ability of orthodontists and lay persons of different age groups.

Cross-sectional study design, in which participants completed a 'Face Recognition Test'.

Participants were recruited from the Royal London Hospital, Ashford Hospital, Southend University Hospital and the British Orthodontic Society Conference, 2006.

Colour photographs and 3D laser scans of eight volunteers were displayed and participants were asked to match the photographs of each face with the corresponding laser scan within 90 seconds. Participants consisted of 85 orthodontists under 50 years of age, 83 adolescents aged 15-18 years, 85 younger lay adults aged 19-49 years and 83 older lay adults aged 50-70 years.

Female orthodontists were more successful in the face recognition test than female lay persons (P≤0·001) and were four times more successful than the male orthodontists (P = 0·003). There were no differences in face recognition ability between males and females in the lay persons groups (P = 0·970) or between male orthodontists and male lay persons (P = 0·240). When comparing age groups, no significant difference in successfully completing the face recognition test was detected between the adolescent, adult and older adult age groups (P = 0·070).

Overall, our understanding of facial recognition is limited and the mechanisms by which lay people perceive and recognise other faces are important for the orthodontist to consider.