Perceptions of gingival display aesthetics among orthodontists, maxillofacial surgeons and laypersons

Authors

  • Larissa Suzuki
  • André Wilson Machado UFBA
  • Marcos Alan Vieira Bittencourt

Keywords:

Smile, gingival, perception, aesthetics

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare the influence of maxillary gingival exposure on the aesthetic perception of smiles among different groups of individuals. Methods: Single smile photographs were taken of a Caucasian man, a Caucasian woman, an Afro-Brazilian man and an Afro-Brazilian woman. All photographs were processed with a computer; five images were constructed from each original photograph to depict different amounts of gingival display: 0, 1, 3, 5 and 7 mm. Pictures created from the same group were randomly arranged and submitted for evaluation by 60 subjects in three groups (orthodontists, maxillofacial surgeons and laypersons) who were asked to rate the attractiveness of each image on an analogical visual scale. Results: The three groups of subjects all rated the 0 and 1 mm gingival display images similarly, suggesting that they had the same aesthetic perception of this smile type (p < .05). However, orthodontists and maxillofacial surgeons rated gingival displays of 3, 5 and 7 mm less highly than did the layperson group. There was no statistical difference between the orthodontist and maxillofacial surgeon groups. Conclusion: This study showed that the aesthetic perception of gummy smiles statistically differed among studied subjects, with laypersons assigning the greatest scores and orthodontists assigning the lowest scores.

Author Biographies

Larissa Suzuki

Private practice, Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil

André Wilson Machado, UFBA

Department of Orthodontics, Federal University of Bahia, Salvador, BA, Brazil

Marcos Alan Vieira Bittencourt

Department of Orthodontics, Federal University of Bahia, Salvador, BA, Brazil

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Published

2009-11-06

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Section

Original Article