Ntovas Panagiotis, Rachiotis Ioulianos, Maniatakos Panagiotis, Loumprinis Nikolaos, Paximada Chariklia, Rahiotis Christos
Department of Operative Dentistry, Dental School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 11527 Athens, Greece.
Department of Prosthodontics, School of Dental Medicine, Tufts University, Boston, MA 211, USA.
Dent J (Basel). 2025 Jun 25;13(7):287. doi: 10.3390/dj13070287.
: Smile esthetics are a crucial aspect of facial attractiveness, playing a central role in social interactions. Dental students' perception of smiling esthetics may evolve as they progress through their education and clinical exposure. This study aimed to investigate the influence of educational level on dental students' perception of altered smile esthetics. : A cross-sectional study was conducted among 410 undergraduate dental students across five academic years at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. Participants evaluated 22 digitally altered smile images, including single and combined esthetic discrepancies, using a visual analog scale (VAS). Perceived attractiveness scores were analyzed in relation to academic year, gender, and specific types of smile alterations. : The perception of smile attractiveness varied significantly across academic years for certain esthetic discrepancies, including central incisor length mismatch, midline diastema, and open gingival embrasures ( < 0.05). Clinical-year students (years 4-5) demonstrated a more critical assessment compared to preclinical students. Female students exhibited greater sensitivity to specific discrepancies, including fluorosis and reduced tooth lightness. The combination of a midline diastema, a gummy smile, and reduced lightness received the lowest attractiveness scores across all groups. : The perception of altered smile esthetics among undergraduate dental students evolves throughout their education, although this progression does not follow a linear trajectory. Dental education appears to influence the perception of specific smile esthetic discrepancies, reflecting a selective influence on features. Clinical training appears to be a critical parameter of dental education, influencing the perception of smiling esthetics.
微笑美学是面部吸引力的一个关键方面，在社交互动中起着核心作用。牙科学生对微笑美学的认知可能会随着他们在教育过程和临床接触中的进展而演变。本研究旨在调查教育水平对牙科学生对改变后的微笑美学认知的影响。：在雅典国立卡波迪斯特里亚大学对五个学年的410名本科牙科学生进行了一项横断面研究。参与者使用视觉模拟量表（VAS）对22张数字改变后的微笑图像进行评估，包括单一和组合的美学差异。分析了与学年、性别和特定类型微笑改变相关的感知吸引力得分。：对于某些美学差异，包括中切牙长度不匹配、中线间隙和开放牙龈间隙，不同学年对微笑吸引力的认知存在显著差异（<0.05）。与临床前学生相比，临床学年的学生（4-5年级）表现出更严格的评估。女学生对特定差异表现出更高的敏感性，包括氟斑牙和牙齿亮度降低。中线间隙、露龈笑和亮度降低的组合在所有组中获得的吸引力得分最低。：本科牙科学生对改变后的微笑美学的认知在整个教育过程中不断演变，尽管这种进展并不遵循线性轨迹。牙科教育似乎会影响对特定微笑美学差异的认知，反映出对特征的选择性影响。临床培训似乎是牙科教育的一个关键参数，影响对微笑美学的认知。
