title: Differences in facial profile and dental esthetic perceptions between young adults and orthodontists.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The principal aim of this study was to investigate differences in perception of soft-tissue facial profiles and dental esthetics between young Chinese adults and orthodontists.
  
  
  METHODS
  Eight hundred ninety-two subjects (444 male, 448 female), ages 16 to 24 years, chose 1 image from among 5 profile silhouettes and from among 10 ranked color photographs of the aesthetic component (AC) of the index of orthodontic treatment need that most closely resembled their own profile and dental esthetic appearance, respectively. A panel of 20 orthodontists then independently repeated the same image selection process. Each subject also completed the Eysenck personality questionnaire for psychoticism. We used the Mann-Whitney U test and the Spearman rank correlation test, with statistical significance set at α = 0.05.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Only 37.0% of subjects had straight profiles by objective orthodontic assessment, but 85.0% chose straight profiles by subjective self-perception. About 17.5%, mainly females, chose the mild convex as the ideal profile. Only 2.5% of the subjects were ranked 1 on the AC by orthodontists, but 43.6% chose 1, or ideal, by self-perception. Male subjects scored significantly higher than did female subjects for self-perceived facial profiles (more protruded chins) and for the AC (more attractive dental appearance). Subjects with high psychoticism T scores (>50) scored significantly lower for self-perceived facial profiles (more retruded chins) and on the AC (less attractive dental appearance).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Young Chinese adults perceived their facial profiles and dental appearances to be significantly more straight and attractive, respectively, than did the orthodontists. A significant proportion of the young adults, mainly women, preferred a mild convex facial profile. High psychoticism scores might significantly affect the self-perception of orthodontic treatment needs.
authors.affiliation: Associate clinical professor, Hospital of Nanjing Army Command College, Nanjing, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Lu
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Yin
authors.affiliation: Associate professor and department chair, Hospital of Nanjing Army Command College, Nanjing, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Mingchun
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.affiliation: Professor and department chair, Department of Orthodontics, College of Stomatology, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, People's Republic of China. Electronic address: chenwenjing_orth@163.com.
authors.forename: Wenjing
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Visiting research fellow, School of Dentistry, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, Australia.
authors.forename: Roger J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Smales
authors.affiliation: Lecturer, Department of Orthodontics, College of Stomatology, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Qingzhu
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Lecturer, Research Center, Nanjing Army Command College, Nanjing, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Lei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Tang
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D002681:China; D004955:Esthetics, Dental; D005145:Face / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D061326:Index of Orthodontic Treatment Need; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009970:Orthodontics; D010555:Personality Inventory; D010781:Photography; D011618:Psychotic Disorders / Q000523:psychology; D012649:Self Concept; D012737:Sex Factors; D055815:Young Adult