title: Assessment of dental appearance following changes in incisor proportions.
abstract: This study aimed to evaluate the assessment of attractiveness of standardized changes in incisor proportions. Two original photographs, showing the maxillary anterior teeth in the frame of a smile, were computer-manipulated. From the so-produced symmetrical 'golden standard' images, two sets were constructed. Each set contained one golden standard image and seven images with different standardized changes concerning (i) width-to-length ratios of the central incisors (60-96%) and (ii) tooth-to-tooth proportions between the widths of lateral and central incisors (43-87%). The judges, consisting of three groups of individuals (24 dentists, 24 medical students, and 179 patients), ranked each photo set for attractiveness on a visual analogue scale. The width-to-length ratios were assessed as most attractive within a range of 75-85% (medical students, patients) or 75-80% (dentists), respectively. The tooth-to-tooth proportions showed the best results concerning attractive appearance within a range of 50-74% (medical students, patients) or 56-68% (dentists), respectively. No significant differences between the participant groups were found except for some extreme variations. It was concluded that a most attractive 'golden range' could be identified for both the width-to-length ratios and the tooth-to-tooth proportions of the maxillary incisors.
authors.affiliation: Department of Prosthodontics, Propaedeutics and Dental Materials, School of Dentistry, University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein, Christian-Albrechts-University at Kiel, Germany. swolfart@proth.uni-kiel.de
authors.forename: Stefan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wolfart
authors.forename: Helen
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Thormann
authors.forename: Sandra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Freitag
authors.forename: Matthias
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kern
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001290:Attitude; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D003815:Dentists; D004955:Esthetics, Dental; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D007180:Incisor / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D008297:Male; D008437:Maxilla; D008875:Middle Aged; D009811:Odontometry / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D010361:Patients; D023861:Photography, Dental; D012904:Smiling; D013337:Students, Medical