Evaluation of Perceptions of Smile Esthetics by Dental Students

Abstract

Summary Background/Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate in the esthetic perceptions of 2nd grade dental students before and after training. Material and Methods: A total of 16 photographs which contain golden ratio, buccal corridor, midline deviation, incisal embrasure, lip line, midline diastema, dark triangles and smile arc were shown to 78 dental students (33 male, 45 female). Immediately after the training about the smile esthetics, the same photos were shown again. The effect of gender on esthetic perception was also examined, in addition to assessing the effects of education on esthetic perception. Pearson Chi-square, Fisher’s Exact test and McNemar test were used in the analysis of the results. Results: According to the results of the analysis, it was found that the answers of the smile arc before and after the education were statistically significant (p< 0.05). Accordingly, the rate of correct answers of women is statistically higher than that of men. A statistically significant difference was found between the responses to the gingival appearance in the smile before and after the education (p< 0.05). Conclusions: Based on the limited results of this study, professional dental education may affect the esthetic evaluation of smile. There were differences in the esthetic perception of women and men.