An assessment of the self-satisfying smile among different professionals

Abstract

Aims: The aim of this study was to assess the variation in self-assessment of smile among dental and nondental professional groups. Materials and Methods: We carried a cross-sectional, analytical study on dental and nondental male professionals. Spontaneous photograph of each smiling participant was taken and showed to all of them. They were asked to judge their own smile according to their smile-line height. Five-point response scale was used, varying from 1 (very unfavorable) to 5 (very favorable); a nonlinear quadratic regression analysis was used to determine objective smile-line height and judgment of the smile esthetics. Results: Overall fit of the regression analysis model of dental students was poor (P = 0.075), as was for nondental students (P = 0.727). The smile-line height was a significant predictor of the self-assessment of the dental students and not significant for nondental students. Conclusion: The perception of participants having dental knowledge and those not having dental knowledge vary, and thus, we suggest that patients' self-perception must be given consideration while setting a goal for outcome.