title: Do dental esthetics have any influence on finding a job?
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Our objective was to determine whether dental esthetics have any influence on finding a new job.
  
  
  METHODS
  Ten patients with orthodontic treatment needs for various types of malocclusions were selected. Smiling facial photographs of all patients were obtained and digitally altered (orthodontic correction of teeth). After the images were obtained, 2 different questionnaires were prepared (survey groups A and B) with the photographs without alteration (showing malocclusion) and altered (with orthodontic correction). Subjects appeared in one questionnaire (survey group) with an ideal smile and also in the other (survey group) with a nonideal smile. The images were evaluated by 100 persons responsible for hiring staff for commercial companies. In each survey group, 4 questions were asked regarding the individuals' likelihood of being hired, honesty, intelligence, and efficiency at work. Analysis of variance for repeated measures was used to determine the differences in the evaluations of patients with ideal and nonideal dental esthetics for the 4 characteristics evaluated. The level of significance adopted was 5%.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The photographs of persons with ideal dental esthetics were, on average, evaluated as superior with respect to intelligence and likelihood of being hired than were the photographs of the same subjects with nonideal dental esthetics. For the characteristics of honesty and efficiency, no significant differences were observed in the evaluations between those with ideal and nonideal smiles (P <0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Persons with ideal smiles are considered more intelligent and have a greater chance of finding a job when compared with persons with nonideal smiles.
authors.affiliation: Professor of orthodontics, Department of Health I, Southwest Bahia State University-UESB, Jequié, Bahia, Brazil. Electronic address: matheuspithon@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Matheus Melo
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Pithon
authors.affiliation: Dentistry student, Department of Health I, Southwest Bahia State University-UESB, Jequié, Bahia, Brazil.
authors.forename: Caroline Carvalho
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Nascimento
authors.affiliation: Information Systems student, Department of Chemical and Exacts, Southwest Bahia State University, Jequié, Bahia, Brazil.
authors.forename: George Caíque Gouveia
authors.initials: GC
authors.lastname: Barbosa
authors.affiliation: Professor of epidemiology, Center for Studies in Aging, Department of Health I, Southwest Bahia State University, Jequié, Bahia, Brazil.
authors.forename: Raildo da Silva
authors.initials: Rda S
authors.lastname: Coqueiro
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001290:Attitude; D044383:Black People / Q000523:psychology; D001938:Brazil; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003970:Diastema; D004526:Efficiency; D004651:Employment; D004955:Esthetics, Dental; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007360:Intelligence; D008297:Male; D008310:Malocclusion / Q000523:psychology; D024343:Open Bite / Q000523:psychology; D010560:Personnel Selection; D010781:Photography; D012904:Smiling / Q000523:psychology; D012928:Social Desirability; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014342:Truth Disclosure; D044465:White People / Q000523:psychology