Perceptions of orthodontists, laypersons, and patients regarding buccal corridors and facial types

Abstract

The space on each side of the mouth, between the commissure of the mouth and the buccal surface of the last visible tooth, is called the buccal corridor. The size of the buccal corridor can affect perceptions of facial esthetics. We analyzed the perceptions of orthodontists, laypersons, and orthodontic patients regarding the size of buccal corridors in people with brachyfacial, mesofacial, and dolichofacial types. Photographs of 1 male and 1 female model were modified digitally into brachyfacial, mesofacial, and dolichofacial types. Each facial type was further modified to create 5 sizes of buccal corridors. Orthodontists, adult orthodontic patients, and laypersons were invited to rate the photographs. Orthodontists rated lower than the other groups of raters when they evaluated the female model with the buccal corridors of 20% (P<0.05). Laypersons could not distinguish the changes of the buccal corridors when evaluating the male model with brachyfacial and mesofacial (P>0.05). Orthodontic patients rated significantly higher than the orthodontists and the laypersons when evaluating the dolichofacial type of both models (P<0.05). Orthodontists are more sensitive to the buccal corridors than are orthodontic patients and laypersons. It is only necessary to consider eliminating the patient's buccal corridors when the buccal corridor area ratio is over 15%.