Effect of Canine Dimensions on Smile Aesthetics among General Dentists, Dental Students and Laypersons

Canines and their dimensions play a major role in the appearance of the smile. The aim of the study was to determine the perception of smile aesthetics among General dentists, Dental students, and laypersons, with respect to different levels of maxillary canine (canine tip height and gingival height in reference with central incisors) and Golden Proportions in regards to lateral incisor.

This was a cross-sectional study conducted amongst three different populations; students of dentistry, general dentists and laypersons. A convenient sample size of 109 participants was accepted for the present study, out of which there were 41 students of dentistry, 38 general dentists and 30 laypersons. We used digitally altered photographs (n=15)for data collection.

Kruskal Wallis Test was applied as a test of significance and the level of significance was set at <0.05.

The most of the dental students found the canine tip (-0.5), the gingival height of (+0.5) and the Golden Proportion 62% attractive. The majority of general dentists found the canine tip (-0.5), the gingival height of (+1) and the Golden Proportion 72% attractive. In comparison, laypersons found the canine tip (+0.5), the gingival height of (0) and the Golden Proportion 57% attractive.

The study demonstrated that the perceptions of dental students, general dentists and laypersons had a significant difference.