The Differences between Dentist’s and Non-Dentist’s Perceptions on Facial Attractiveness

Orthodontics plays an important role in an individual's appearance. An individual's appearance can affect the perception of others which can vary greatly depending on their education background, profession and social life. Objective: To determine if there are differences between dentist’s and non-dentist’s perceptions of facial attractiveness with various types of malocclusions particularly in Indonesian population. Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted on 80 dentists and 80 non-dentists aged 23-49 years old. The differences between dentist’s and non-dentist’s perceptions were assessed by giving scores on ten photographs for each gender that have been digitally manipulated and showing normal occlusion and nine types of malocclusion. Perceptions of facial attractiveness were measured by visual analogue scale (VAS, range: 0-10). Mann Whitney test was used to analyze the differences. Results: Normal occlusion is the most attractive condition for dentists and non-dentists. There are significant differences between dentist’s and non-dentist’s perceptions of facial attractiveness showing normal occlusion, increased overjet, increased overbite, reduced overjet, reduced overbite, mild crowding, open bite, and reversed overjet malocclusions (p0.05). Conclusion: Regarding the facial attractiveness, dentist’s and non-dentist’s perceptions are significantly different for most malocclusion types. However there is an agreement that severe and moderate crowding are the most disturbing malocclusion that have a considerable effect on facial attractivenes.