The impact of dental appearance on the appraisal of personal characteristics.
OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this study was to ascertain the influence of dental appearance upon subjective ratings of personal characteristics, specifically social competence, intellectual ability, and psychologic adjustment.


METHODS
A cross-sectional analytic interview study was conducted with 201 undergraduates. Each participant was asked to make judgments about the personal characteristics of the subject of a single color photograph. Eight photographs of four different men were used, each with one of two degrees of dental status (visible disease, no visible disease). Outcome measures were participants' judgments of the social competence, intellectual ability, and psychologic adjustment of the subjects of the photographs.


RESULTS
Participants judged subjects with less dental disease to be more socially competent, to show greater intellectual achievement, and to have better psychologic adjustment.


CONCLUSIONS
In the absence of other information, the judgments an individual makes concerning the personal characteristics of others are influenced by dental appearance.
Newton
Jonathon Timothy
JT
Psychology in Relation to Dentistry, Guy's, Kings and St Thomas' Dental Institute, Division of Dental Public Health, Oral Health Services Research and the Schools of Dental Nursing, London, United Kingdom. tim.newton@kcl.ac.uk
Prabhu
Neeta
N
Robinson
Peter G
PG
D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001294:Attitude to Health; D002605:Character; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004955:Esthetics, Dental; D005006:Ethnicity / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006240:Happiness; D006801:Humans; D007360:Intelligence; D008297:Male; D012929:Psychological Distance; D012649:Self Concept; D012917:Social Adjustment; D012928:Social Desirability; D012938:Social Perception; D014076:Tooth Diseases / Q000523:psychology*