Smile esthetics: age related changes, and objective differences between social and spontaneous smiles

To evaluate the importance of age in orthodontic treatment by studying the dependence of smile and resting parameters on age and to expose differences between social and spontaneous smiles.

Subjects consisted of 67 individuals aged between 17 and 55. The video recordings were transferred to a computer 200 still frames were captured for each individual 50 were captured in resting position, 50 during speech, 50for social, and 50for spontaneous smiles. One picture was selectedfrom each group based on how pictures reflected the desired point ANOVA and Scheffe Post-hoc tests were performed on smile measurements.

In all the resting parameters, statistically significant differences were observed among age groups. Also, the response of these parameters to age differs between men and women. Statistically significant diferences were found in some smile parameters among diferent age groups, for both smile types. We find significant differences between social and spontaneous smiles.

Age related alterations should be taken into consideration during treatment planning, especially in women. Due to its high consistency, there are advantages with using a spontaneous smile in soft-hard tissue evaluations. We also emphasize the necessity to take dynamic registrations for a true functional evaluation.