Perception of facial, dental, and smile esthetics by dental students

To comprehensively assess dental students' perception of facial, dental and smile esthetics and to assess whether such a perception varies by gender, clinical training, and Grade Point Average (GPA).

Series of photographs were digitally manipulated involving three facial, two smile, four dental, and one gingival components. Students in preclinical and clinical levels evaluated the original and manipulated images using a visual analogue scale scored from 1 to 5 where 5 is the standard image and 1 is the least pleasant one. The responses were then analyzed using Mann-Whitney test. A P value of < .05 was considered significant.

Four hundred and eight dental students participated in this study. With regard to the overall esthetics, males and clinical students scored higher than females and preclinical students, respectively, did. With regard to the individual esthetic components, males had significantly higher scores in buccal corridors, midline shift, clinical crown width, and gingival marginal height, while females had significantly higher score in median diastema (P < .05). Clinical students had a better perception of facial asymmetry, gingival display, buccal corridors, and clinical crown width compared to the preclinical students. Effect of GPA was minimal and even contradictory; students with lower GPA had a better perception of midline deviation and occlusal canting than those with higher GPA scores.

Male dental students, and unexpectedly unlike females, have a better perception of facial and dental esthetics. Unlike GPA, whose effect was minimal, clinical training has a substantial positive effect on the assessment of beauty.

Appropriate perception of facial, dental and smile esthetics by dental students is of paramount importance for providing adequate dental services and for improving and polishing their professionalism.© 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.