Abstract
ABSTRACTObjective: The objective of this study was to determine orthodontists’, periodontists’, and laypersons’ perception of smile esthetics, regarding the presence of different levels of gingival recession on the maxillary left canine. Material and Methods: Two close-up smile images (frontal and oblique) of a white female were selected for this study. The images were digitally altered to create different levels of gingival recession on maxillary left canine, in 0.5-mm increments. They were randomly arranged into a photo album that was shown to 135 evaluators: 45 orthodontists, 45 periodontists, and 45 laypersons. Each evaluator was asked to rate the smile attractiveness, using to a visual analog scale. Data were analyzed statistically using ANOVA, Tukey’s post-hoc test, and Student t-test. Results: According to the orthodontists and periodontists, all levels of recession were considered as unesthetic in both types of images. According to the laypersons, gingival recession > 1.5 mm in the frontal image and > 1.0 mm in the oblique image were considered unesthetic. Conclusion: The results showed that the presence of unilateral gingival recession on maxillary canines may negatively influence smile attractiveness, depending on the evaluator type and the level of the recession.
Highlights
In recent years, the search for facial esthetic treatments by patients from all around the world presented a significant growth.[1]
With regard to gingival recession on canines, the literature describes some treatments for this problem,[22,23,24] only one study was found on the influence of these recessions on the perception of smile esthetics.[14]
From the orthodontist’s standpoint, the most attractive smile in the frontal view was the one with no gingival recession, and the least attractive were those with gingival recession of 2.0 and 2.5 mm
Summary
The search for facial esthetic treatments by patients from all around the world presented a significant growth.[1]. It is important to remember that esthetic perception varies between individuals.[3] For example, the literature suggests that orthodontists are more rigorous than laypersons in detecting small deviations in smile.[6,7,11,12,19,20] some deviations are not often noticeable to laypersons, which may question the real need for esthetic treatments. Among several situations that may influence smile esthetics, gingival recession needs to be carefully evaluated, because of its frequent occurrence.[21] With regard to gingival recession on canines, the literature describes some treatments for this problem,[22,23,24] only one study was found on the influence of these recessions on the perception of smile esthetics.[14] The authors found that a 2-mm unilateral canine gingival recession was rated as unattractive.[14] this information is clinically important, the question whether recessions smaller than 2 mm may impact on smile esthetics still remains undisclosed. Finding an answer in this matter is extremely important because if small recessions cannot be detected, from an esthetic standpoint, it might be unnecessary to treat them
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