Comparison of difference in perception between Orthodontists and laypersons in terms of variations in buccal corridor space using Visual Analogue Scale

Abstract

Introduction: Orthodontics has undergone a paradigm shift with a focus of treatment on facial aesthetics. Buccal corridor show has always remained a controversial aspect of smile aesthetics. As orthodontists often expand the arches as a mean of gaining space, it is of interest to know how the amount of tooth display affects smile attractiveness. The objectives of this study were to compare the difference in perception of orthodontists and laypersons to altered smile aesthetics, specifically with regards to buccal corridor show.

Material and Methods: This was a cross sectional study carried out in the OPD of Islamic International Dental Hospital, Islamabad from September 2011 to March 2012. A frontal smiling photograph was obtained from a non-orthodontic female patient with a pleasing smile. Using computer software Adobe Photoshop 7.0 (San Jose, Calif), the smile was digitally altered to create different variations of the normal buccal corridor space. For the main survey the photographs were projected as a power point presentation to orthodontists and laypersons (n =46). The raters were asked to score the overall appearance of the photographs using visual analogue scale from 1 to 10.

Results: There was no significant difference in the perception between orthodontists and laypersons for variations in buccal corridor (p < 0.05). Both groups preferred smiles with minimal buccal corridors.

Conclusions: Laypersons and orthodontists preferred smiles with absent or minimal buccal corridors. There is no gender or age group difference in buccal corridors (BC) attractiveness.