Original scientific paper
https://doi.org/10.15644/asc56/2/7
Impact of Gingival Margin Asymmetries on the Smile Esthetic Perception of Dental Specialists, Doctors of Dental Medicine, Students, and Laypeople: a Comparative Pilot Study
Martina Čalušić Šarac
orcid.org/0000-0003-1323-1433
; Osijek-Baranja County Health Center, Osijek, Croatia
Sandra Anić Milošević
orcid.org/0000-0003-2641-2364
; University of Zagreb, School of Dental Medicine, Department of Orthodontics, Zagreb, Croatia
Domagoj Vražić
; University of Zagreb, School of Dental Medicine, Department of Periodontology, Zagreb, Croatia
Marko Jakovac
orcid.org/0000-0002-2098-4890
; School of Dental Medicine, Department of Fixed Prosthodontics, Zagreb, Croatia
Abstract
Objective: To evaluate the perceptions of altered incisor gingival position among dental specialists, dentists, dental students, and laypeople. Material and methods: Four digital smile photographs with altered gingival margin position of the right maxillary incisor (0, 1, 2, and 3 mm) were presented to a sample of 232 respondents (71.1% female; 28.9% male): 42 dental specialists, 63 dentists, 33 dental students (1 st to 3 rd year), 38 dental students (4 th to 6 th year) and 56 laypeople. The questionnaire consisted of four randomly displayed photographs, administered via Google Form, and respondents were asked to rate the images on a scale from 1 to 5, from the least attractive to the most attractive. A statistical analysis was performed using the TIBCO Statistica program (v. 13.3. 0, TIBCO Software Inc., Palo Alto, CA, USA; 2017). According to the Shapiro- Wilk’s test, the data were not distributed normally. The Kruskal-Wallis test with post hoc multiple comparisons with the Bonferroni adjustment were used to compare group esthetic scores and to determine the threshold levels of deviation at which each group was discriminated between esthetic and non-esthetic situations. Results: Median values of esthetic scores decreased in all groups as the gingival asymmetries increased. Dental professionals were significantly more critical of esthetics than laypeople in all levels of asymmetry. The greatest difference was found for 2 mm of gingival asymmetry (p=0.002). Conclusion: From the results of our study, we can conclude that the perception of gingival asymmetries in the esthetic zone of smile differs among dental specialists, doctors, students, and laypeople. Dental specialists, doctors, and clinical students were more critical of these asymmetries, while preclinical students and laypeople noticed only 2 mm or more of gingival asymmetry of central incisors.
Keywords
Gingiva; Incisor; Dental Esthetics; Smiling
Hrčak ID:
279112
URI
Publication date:
13.6.2022.
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