Preferred Facial Profile in Tanzanian Populations

Abstract

There is a difference in the ideals of facial beauty and aesthetic assessment used in orthodontics, from what public opinion believes. For instance, having a light skin in some of Asian societies is considered as among the important factors for female beauty. Consequently, skin whitening products are very widespread. Occasionally, an orthodontist or any other dental practitioner ignores the public’s perceptions of dental esthetics, and this might lead to dissatisfaction with the treatment outcomes since the patients’ perception may be different from that of the clinician. This study determines the facial profile preferred by Tanzanians population. Study involved 160 adult participants of both sexes from Dar es salaam, Tanzania. Images of participants were modified to generate four types of solid black silhouettes facial profiles. Special questionnaires inquiring demographic information, comprised of eight profile silhouettes, were given to the raters. Correlation and descriptive statistical analysis were computed by Stata15. Associations of the responses were compared according to gender, age, skin color, and income. A t-test was used to compare between genders, while ANOVA was used to compare between, skin color, income and age groups. All statistical significance was accepted at CI 95% and p-values less than 0.05 were considered significant. Interdependence among variables in the sample was determined by multiple regression analysis. Significant correlation was set at p < 0.05. In conclusion, female Straight profile and male Class I profile were the most preferred profiles while, Class III was the least preferred regardless of gender, age, skin color and income differences.