Hodali Lana, Massad Nabil
Faculty of Dentistry, An-Najah National University, Nablus, PSE.
Cureus. 2025 Feb 22;17(2):e79479. doi: 10.7759/cureus.79479. eCollection 2025 Feb.
Objective This study aimed to assess laypersons' perceptions of smile aesthetics in relation to upper dental midline deviations and to determine whether adjacent facial structures influence their judgments. Methodology A cross-sectional study was conducted using two sets of photographs depicting midline deviations. The first set included six images showing only the lips, while the second set featured six images displaying the lips, chin, and two-thirds of the nose. Both sets presented deviations at increments of 0 mm (no shift), 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 mm relative to the facial midline. The photographs were randomly labeled (A-F) and presented in a nonsequential order to prevent bias. Laypersons rated the attractiveness of each smile on a scale of 1 (very unattractive) to 10 (very attractive). Data were tabulated and analyzed using SPSS software version 22 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY). Results Responses from 242 laypersons (127 females and 115 males) revealed that midline deviations of up to 3 mm were considered aesthetically acceptable across both photo sets. Friedman's test indicated statistically significant differences in ratings for each midline shift in both groups ( < 0.001). However, no significant differences were observed between ratings for smiles showing only the lips and those including the lips, chin, and nose. Additionally, gender and age did not significantly influence perceptions of smile attractiveness. Conclusions Laypersons perceive midline deviations of up to 3 mm as attractive, regardless of whether adjacent facial structures are included in the images. These findings suggest that the presence of additional facial features does not significantly alter aesthetic judgments of midline deviations.
目的 本研究旨在评估外行人对与上颌牙中线偏差相关的微笑美学的看法，并确定相邻面部结构是否会影响他们的判断。 方法 使用两组描绘中线偏差的照片进行横断面研究。第一组包括六张仅显示嘴唇的图像，而第二组则有六张显示嘴唇、下巴和三分之二鼻子的图像。两组图像均呈现相对于面部中线0毫米（无偏移）、1、2、3、4和5毫米增量的偏差。照片被随机标记（A - F）并以无序顺序呈现以防止偏差。外行人根据1（非常不吸引人）到10（非常吸引人）的量表对每个微笑的吸引力进行评分。数据使用SPSS 22软件（IBM公司，纽约州阿蒙克）进行制表和分析。 结果 242名外行人（127名女性和115名男性）的回答显示，在两组照片中，高达3毫米的中线偏差在美学上被认为是可以接受的。Friedman检验表明两组中每个中线偏移的评分存在统计学显著差异（<0.001）。然而，仅显示嘴唇的微笑评分与包括嘴唇、下巴和鼻子的微笑评分之间未观察到显著差异。此外，性别和年龄对微笑吸引力的看法没有显著影响。 结论 外行人认为高达3毫米的中线偏差具有吸引力，无论图像中是否包含相邻面部结构。这些发现表明，额外面部特征的存在不会显著改变对中线偏差的美学判断。
