Young people's esthetic perception of dental midline deviation.

OBJECTIVE

To test the hypothesis that young people's esthetic perception of dentition midline deviation or the threshold below which they find the deviation "acceptable" depends on the gender and face type of the person with the deviation and the gender of the evaluator.

MATERIALS AND

METHODS

Facial images of six young subjects with three different face types were captured, and their dentition midlines were altered digitally. The images were evaluated by young people with no dental training. Statistical analysis was carried out to determine the threshold for acceptable dentition midline deviation and factors influencing perception.

RESULTS

The mean value for the threshold below which a deviation was judged "acceptable" was 2.403 mm (95% confidence interval, 2.315-2.491). The preferences of evaluators did not significantly depend on the direction of the deviation. Both male and female evaluators were significantly less tolerant of deviation in female subjects than in male subjects. However, female evaluators were significantly more tolerant of midline deviations in male subjects than were male evaluators. In addition, the same degree of deviation was most noticeable in male subjects with a tapered face type and least noticeable in female subjects with a square face type.

CONCLUSIONS

The gender and face type of an individual with dentition midline deviation and the gender of the evaluator do affect young people's esthetic perception of a dentition midline deviation and the threshold below which they find the deviation "acceptable."