Evidence to suggest that teeth act as human ornament displays signalling mate quality

The influence of age and gender on perception of orofacial esthetics among laypersons in Switzerland

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the perception and role of orofacial esthetics by laypersons, and how attitudes may be correlated with age and gender in Switzerland.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

Self-administrated questionnaires (SAQ) were distributed both conventionally and digitally to Swiss residents over 16 years of age (range 16-99 years). The participants were identified in the medical practice, at an open house of the ZMK Bern, in elderly care centers, and via the internet (Facebook and Instagram). To verify that the participants were Swiss residents and laypersons, they were checked by an operator (conventional) or were provided an exact description of eligible participants at the beginning of the SAQ (digital). The SAQ included 30 questions with multiple-choice responses and visual analogue scales (0-100) divided into four sections regarding dental appearance with respect to body esthetics, partner selection, employment and career opportunities, and overall health/quality-of-life. For statistical analysis, respondents were segregated into two age groups (<25 years and ≥25 years) and into two gender groups (male and female). Descriptive analyses, the Fisher exact test, and Welch's t-test were applied (α = 0.05).

RESULTS

Five hundred and two laypersons completed the SAQ. The study's hypothesis-that various age groups and genders have different perceptions of dental esthetics-was supported. The willingness to correct one's own dentition was lower among older participants (OR: 0.54; p = 0.001); charisma and dental esthetics were considered equally important with a trend toward charisma in both age groups (p = 0.003). The belief that excellent dentition improves employment chances at a job interview (OR: 0.47; p = 0.0003) was significantly lower among older participants, and the belief that dental correction would improve quality-of-life was significantly higher among older participants (OR: 1.81; p = 0.001). The assumption that individuals with attractive teeth appear happier was significantly lower among older respondents (OR: 0.67; p = 0.03). Women were less satisfied with their dental appearance and, proportionally, their willingness to receive correction was significantly higher (OR: 1.79; p = 0.01 and OR: 1.77; p = 0.002 relative to men, respectively). Moreover, male participants had a lower desire to have brighter teeth and undergo bleaching treatments (OR: 0.54; p = 0.002; OR: 0.53; p = 0.002). The proportion of men believing that having beautiful teeth improves attractiveness and employment chances was significantly lower (OR: 0.33; p = 0.02 and OR: 0.66; p = 0.04; respectively).

CONCLUSIONS

Within the limitations of this observational study, it was concluded that age and gender of laypersons in Switzerland have a significant impact on the perception of dental esthetics.

CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE

Evaluating and quantifying perceptions of dental esthetics for daily life across various age groups and genders can improve clinicians' understanding of individual needs in order to offer patient-oriented dental care.

Beyond oral hygiene, are capacity-altering, biologically based interventions within the moral domain of dentistry?

Oral diseases such as dental caries (DC) and periodontitis are widely prevalent, and existing approaches to managing these conditions have only a limited effect. Accordingly, there is growing interest in the development of novel biological interventions (including, among others, CRISPR-Cas9) that might, in the future, be used to prevent the development of or cure these conditions. However, in addition to familiar concerns about using biological interventions in children who cannot provide valid consent, it is not clear whether the provision of these interventions would fall within the proper domain of dentistry. In this opinion paper, we defend the view that the provision of reasonably safe and effective novel biological interventions aimed at preventing DC and periodontitis should be understood to fall within the proper domain of dentistry. To do so, we first argue that their use would be consistent with existing practice in dentistry. We then argue that: i) they may substantially increase the recipient's wellbeing and future autonomy; and ii) that their use could constitute a form of indirect preventative medicine by addressing a threat to systemic health.

Non-trophic Functional Ecology of Vertebrate Teeth: A Review

Teeth are critical to the functional ecology of vertebrate trophic abilities, but are also used for a diversity of other non-trophic tasks. Teeth can play a substantial role in how animals move, manipulate their environment, positively interact with conspecifics, antagonistically interact with other organisms, and sense the environment. We review these non-trophic functions in an attempt to place the utility of human and all other vertebrate dentitions in a more diverse framework that emphasizes an expanded view of the functional importance and ecological diversity of teeth. In light of the extensive understanding of the developmental genetics, trophic functions, and evolutionary history of teeth, comparative studies of vertebrate dentitions will continue to provide unique insights into multi-functionality, many-to-one mapping, and the evolution of novel abilities.

Can Cosmetics' Advertisements Be An Indicator of Different Perceptions of Beauty Amongst Countries?

INTRODUCTION

Concepts of beauty are different amongst different cultures and civilizations. The objective of this study was to evaluate beauty perceptions through cosmetic advertisements in an effort to further appreciate beauty understanding amongst lay people in various parts of the world. To achieve these objectives, we reviewed cosmetics' advertisements to study whether the concept of beauty varies amongst different countries.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

We used the keywords "cosmetics" and "advertisements" in YouTube search engine in all existing languages in Google translator and came up with advertisements from 18 countries. The faces of the models were compared against Marquardt^® beauty mask template in order to have a mean to objectively test symmetry with a mathematical computer model. The weak point of our study is that we can present no model photographs due to General Data Protection Regulation.

RESULTS

Advertisements retrieved in total were 257. Characteristics with no statistically significant difference (SSD) amongst models in different parts of the world were: symmetry (p = 0.187), high cheek bones (p = 0.325), small noses (p = 0.72), thin jaws (p = 0.98), lush hair (p = 0.54), clean and smooth skin (p = 0.367), and white toothed smile (p = 0.235). Characteristics with SSD were: in Latin America, USA, and Australia tanned models and fuller lips were preferred (p < 0.001), whilst in Asia milky white skin models and small mouth were preferred. Age ratio (p = 0.022) was lower amongst models in Southeast Asia compared to American, European, Indian, Australian, and Arab models. Arab and Southeast Asia women had intense eyebrows (p < 0.001) and used artificial eyelashes.

CONCLUSIONS

All the common characteristics noted by the two independent surgeons (GAS and LP) referred to symmetry, youthfulness, and health. Differences noticed reflected cultural influences in the perception of beauty.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE V

This journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each article. For a full description of these Evidence-Based Medicine ratings, please refer to the Table of Contents or the online Instructions to Authors www.springer.com/00266 .

Grand Challenges in Comparative Tooth Biology

Teeth are a model system for integrating developmental genomics, functional morphology, and evolution. We are at the cusp of being able to address many open issues in comparative tooth biology and we outline several of these newly tractable and exciting research directions. Like never before, technological advances and methodological approaches are allowing us to investigate the developmental machinery of vertebrates and discover both conserved and excitingly novel mechanisms of diversification. Additionally, studies of the great diversity of soft tissues, replacement teeth, and non-trophic functions of teeth are providing new insights into dental diversity. Finally, we highlight several emerging model groups of organisms that are at the forefront of increasing our appreciation of the mechanisms underlying tooth diversification.

Analysis of chemical deposits on tooth enamel exposed to total particulate matter from cigarette smoke and tobacco heating system 2.2 aerosol by novel GC-MS deconvolution procedures

Tobacco smoking contributes to tooth discoloration. Pigmented compounds in the smoke generated by combustion of tobacco can cause discoloration of dental hard tissues. However, aerosols from heated tobacco products cause less discoloration than cigarette smoke (CS) in vitro. The objective of the present study was to optimize a method for extracting the colored chemical compounds deposited on tooth enamel following exposure to total particulate matter (TPM) from CS or a heated tobacco product (Tobacco Heating System [THS] 2.2), analyze the extracts by gas chromatography coupled to time-of-flight mass spectrometry, and identify the key chemicals associated with tooth discoloration. Sixty bovine enamel blocks were exposed for 2 weeks to TPM from CS or THS 2.2 aerosol or to artificial saliva as a control. Brushing without toothpaste and color measurements were performed each week. Noticeable discoloration of enamel was observed following exposure to CS TPM. The discoloration following exposure to THS 2.2 aerosol TPM or artificial saliva was not distinguishable to the eye (ΔE < 3.3). Carbon disulfide was used to extract surface-deposited chemicals. Untargeted analyses were followed by partial least squares correlation against discoloration scores (R2 = 0.96). Eleven compounds had variable importance in projection scores greater than 2. Discriminant autocorrelation matrix calculation of their mass spectral information identified eight of the eleven compounds as terpenoids. None of the compounds were related to nicotine. Several of these compounds were also detected in THS 2.2 aerosol TPM-exposed enamel, but at lower levels, in line with our findings showing less discoloration. Compared with CS TPM exposure, THS 2.2 aerosol TPM exposure resulted in lower deposition of color-related compounds on enamel surface, consistent with minimal discoloration of dental enamel.

Concerns about dental aesthetics are associated with oral health related quality of life in Southern Brazilian adults

Abstract It aims to evaluate the association between dental appearance and Oral Health Related Quality of Life. Fifteen primary care services with dental services were selected in Porto Alegre, Brazil. Individuals were interviewed from a random sampling of households in the catchment area of the health centres. The outcome was having an OHIP14 score > 0 (any impact). The main exposures included self-reported tooth colour and position, perception of oral health and concern with dental aesthetics. Data were analysed with stepwise logistic regression. Of 1943 individuals contacted, 433 used public dental services in the last year. Seventy-three percent had some impact on quality of life, 35.2% and 47.5% reported stained and crowded teeth, respectively. Also, 22.2% had already tried bleaching their teeth. Individuals concerned with colour were 2.56 times (95% CI: 1.34-4.89) more likely to report any impact after adjusting for number of teeth, smoking and education. Concerns about tooth position, reporting stained or crowded teeth, age, sex and income were not significant (p > 0.30). There is a direct and independent association between concerns with tooth colour and quality of life. The effect of tooth colour on quality of life may be mediated by individuals’ perceptions of aesthetics.

Clinical survival of chair-side generated monolithic lithium disilicate crowns:10-year results

OBJECTIVES

Nowadays, all-ceramic materials are routinely used within the treatment of patients in dentistry. The objective of this prospective clinical trial was the evaluation of chair-side generated monolithic lithium disilicate crowns after 10 years.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Forty-one posterior full contour crowns made of lithium disilicate ceramics were inserted with a self-adhesive resin cement in 34 patients (20 university/14 private practice) using a chair-side CAD/CAM technique. One crown per patient was randomly selected for evaluation according to the modified US Public Health Service criteria.

RESULTS

After a mean examination time of 10.1 years, 26 crowns were available for re-examination. Within the observation period, five failures occurred due to one crown fracture after 2.9 years, an abutment fracture after 6.0 years, one severe endodontic problem after 6.1 years, a root fracture after 7.0 years, and a replacement of one crown caused by a carious lesion after 10 years. Complications occurred as retention loss of one crown, two carious lesions, and a change in sensibility perception of two abutment teeth. All events were associated with molars. The Kaplan-Meier analysis revealed a survival rate of 83.5% and a complication-free rate of 71.0% after 10 years.

CONCLUSION

Due to the small amount of technical complications and failures, the clinical performance of monolithic lithium disilicate crowns was completely satisfying.

CLINICAL RELEVANCE

The insertion of chair-side fabricated monolithic lithium disilicate crowns can be recommended for long-term use in the posterior region.

Software-based evaluation of human attractiveness: a pilot study

STATEMENT OF PROBLEM

The difficulty of evaluating esthetics in an unbiased way may be overcome by using automated software applications.

PURPOSE

The purpose of this study was to assess the use of a smartphone application as an objective tool for evaluating attractiveness and to evaluate its potential in dentistry.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

Ten white participants (mean age ±SD, 42.1 ±22.6 years) were randomly chosen, and frontal facial pictures of each participant were made. The smartphone application PhotoGenic was used to evaluate the attractiveness of the participants. For comparison, 100 randomly (age>16 years, social environment of the research team) selected raters were asked to evaluate the same participants. The influence of participants' facial expression, age, and sex as well as the raters' age, sex, and occupation was investigated. Statistical analyses (linear mixed models with random intercepts; least square means, 95% confidence interval; P<.05) were implemented.

RESULTS

PhotoGenic produced a mean ±SD attractiveness score of 6.4 ±1.2 and the rater group of 4.9 ±1.8 (P<.001; score range, 0-10). Female raters tended to slightly higher attractiveness scores. The participants' sex, facial expression, and age seemed to not be of high relevance; however, the raters' sex and occupation had an impact on the evaluation.

CONCLUSION

PhotoGenic rated the participants' attractiveness with higher scores (more attractive) than did the human raters. Currently, PhotoGenic is not used as an objective evaluation tool for treatment outcomes for dental treatments because the visibility of the teeth (smiling facial expression) has no influence on the evaluation.