Influence of Incisal Embrasures on Smile Aesthetics

The main aim was to investigate the influence of incisal embrasure variation on the perception of smile attractive-ness among laypeople and dentists in three countries: Portugal, France and Italy, and between gender, age and specialty of the clinicians.

Two initial facial photographs were used to create 6: three of a male model and three of a female model with different incisal embrasures. Participants: Portuguese (204 laypeo-ple/195 doctors). French (214 laypeople/199 doctors) and Italian (204 laypeople/210 doctors). The attractiveness of the image was assessed by completing a questionnaire (visual analog scale VAS: 0-10).

The results were analyzed with non-parametric comparisons (p<0. 05). Significant differences were found between physicians and laypersons in the three countries. The difference in perceived attractiveness was greatest in Portugal. The most attractive embrasure was round and the least attractive was rectangular. The perception of attractiveness did not differ according to medical specialty. Portuguese female doctors were more critical than male doctors; French laymen were more critical than others. Age had no effect on perceived attractiveness of the embrasure.

It was found that there are differences in aesthetic perception between physicians and laypeople in the three countries. In Portugal, dentists are stricter in their aesthetic perception of the embrasure than laypeo-ple. This was not observed in Italy, while France showed an intermediate result between the two countries. Gen-der had some influence on the rating in Portugal and France, in contrast to age. The area in which the doctor practiced had no influence. Key words:Smile aesthetics, Incisal embrasures, Aesthetic impact.