Tooth shape preferences in an esthetic smile. Academic Article uri icon

abstract

  • INTRODUCTION: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the contributions of tooth shape to the esthetic smile. METHODS: Restorative dentists (120), laypeople (102), and orthodontists (113) evaluated a series of color photographs of men's and women's smiles. The photographs were randomly presented to test the effects of 3 different shapes of maxillary incisors and canines on the same patient. RESULTS: For women, orthodontists preferred round and square-round incisors (P < .01), and restorative dentists preferred round incisors (P < or = .03). Laypeople did not discriminate between incisor shapes. For men, all 3 groups preferred square-round incisors (P < or = .042). There was also a tendency for male judges to rate female images more attractive than did female judges. CONCLUSIONS: Restorative dentists, orthodontists, and laypeople share similarities and display differences when considering esthetic preferences in tooth shape. Although there was no consensus in preference among the laypeople as a group, their preferences differed from those of the dental professionals.

published proceedings

  • Am J Orthod Dentofacial Orthop

altmetric score

  • 1

author list (cited authors)

  • Anderson, K. M., Behrents, R. G., McKinney, T., & Buschang, P. H.

citation count

  • 52

complete list of authors

  • Anderson, Kurt M||Behrents, Rolf G||McKinney, Thomas||Buschang, Peter H

publication date

  • October 2005