Comparison of Digital and Paper Assessment of Smile Aesthetics Perception

The medium modulates the medusa effect: Perceived mind in analogue and digital images

We effortlessly attribute mental states to other people. We also attribute minds to people depicted in pictures, albeit at a reduced strength. Intriguingly, this reduction in intensity continues for images of people within a photograph itself-a phenomenon known as the Medusa effect. The present study replicates the Medusa effect for images shown digitally and on paper. Crucially, we demonstrate that we can reduce the magnitude of the Medusa effect by depicting people digitally within a computer screen (e.g., as if one were interacting with a person on a Zoom call). As well as modulating the quantity of the Medusa effect, changes in pictorial medium can affect the quality of the perceived mind. Specifically, the dimension of Experience-what a depicted person can feel-reflected participants' observations that they could interact with an onscreen person embedded in a digital image. This combination of a robust Medusa effect and the ability to control it both quantitatively and qualitatively opens many avenues for its future application, such as manipulating and measuring mind in immersive media.

Smile attractiveness in patients treated with or without 4 premolar extractions: A 36-year follow-up

INTRODUCTION

This study aimed to assess the smile attractiveness in patients treated with or without 4 premolar extractions at a 36-year follow-up.

METHODS

The sample comprised 52 patients with Class I and II malocclusion divided into 2 groups. Group 1 consisted of 15 patients treated without extractions (10 females and 5 males), with a mean pretreatment, posttreatment, and long-term posttreatment (T3) age of 13.2, 15.1, and 49.8 years, respectively. The mean treatment time was 1.9 years, and the mean long-term follow-up period was 34.7 years. Group 2 consisted of 37 patients (25 females and 12 males) treated with 4 premolar extractions, with a mean pretreatment, posttreatment, and long-term posttreatment age of 13.3, 15.7, and 53.6 years, respectively. The mean treatment time was 2.3 years, and the mean long-term follow-up period was 37.9 years. The mean retention time was 2 years for both groups. Frontal smiling photographs were obtained at long-term follow-up. Smile attractiveness was evaluated in an online questionnaire in which the evaluator could rate the smiling photographs with a 10-point scale. The randomly selected evaluator sample consisted of 62 laypeople, 33 dentists, and 89 orthodontists. Independent t tests, 1-way analysis of variance, and Tukey tests were used for intergroup comparisons at P <0.05.

RESULTS

The smile attractiveness on the long term was similar in the groups treated with 4 premolar extractions (4.70 ± 1.35) or without extractions (4.51 ± 1.46). Women and orthodontists were more critical in assessing smile attractiveness than men, dentists, and laypeople.

CONCLUSIONS

After long-term posttreatment, the smile attractiveness was similar in patients treated with 4 premolar extractions or without extractions.

[Aesthetic preferences of individuals when evaluating photographs of facial profiles with different sagittal and vertical growth patterns. A cross-sectional study]

Objective

To evaluate the aesthetic preferences of individuals by observing photographs of different facial profiles with different sagittal and vertical growth patterns.

Materials and Methods

Cross-sectional study that evaluated 300 students from a private university. Edited photographs of a man and a woman were used. The maxilla being moved in a vertical direction while the mandible was moved in a sagittal direction, various combinations of the photographic profile of the two individuals were created. These movements created 9 photographic profiles for the woman and the man; for intra-observer reliability, two photo profiles of both sexes were duplicated. Chi square tests and binary logistic regression were used. P<0.05.

Results

In general, the evaluated individuals mostly preferred the type 6 profile (65.7%), followed by the type 5 profile (21.7%) (slightly convex). It was found that for every year of age that an individual increases, there is a 31% greater chance of choosing one of these profiles.

Conclusions

Both sexes prefer a straight or slightly convex profile, and as age increases, individuals prefer a straight profile.

The effect of torque and vertical position of maxillary canine on smile esthetics

INTRODUCTION

Regarding the key role of the maxillary canine in dynamic occlusion and smile esthetics, this study investigated the relation between smile esthetics and maxillary canine torque and vertical position from the viewpoint of orthodontists, general dentists, and laypersons.

METHODS

In this descriptive cross-sectional study, the close-up smile images have been changed using Adobe Photoshop (Adobe Systems, San Jose, Calif). Then, groups of 21 orthodontists, 20 general dentists, and 33 laypersons evaluated the smile attractiveness of the images using a digital version of a visual analog scale. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS software (version 25; IBM, Armonk, Calif) and Shapiro-Wilk, analysis of variance, and Tukey post-hoc statistical tests. The significance level was set at 0.05.

RESULTS

There was no significant difference in the mean score between the 3 groups of observers regarding the changes in the canine vertical position in none of the variations (P >0.05). Regarding variations in torque, there was a significant difference between the 3 groups of observers in the bilateral 5° torque change. (P = 0.020).

CONCLUSIONS

Unilateral changes in the vertical position had lower scores, which shows that symmetry is very important in smile esthetics. In addition, laypersons did not find torque changes ranging between -15° to 15° a significant factor in smile esthetics. Overall, some adherence to these values will be acceptable in dental treatments.