The smile buccal corridors: aesthetic value for dentists and laypersons.

The purpose of this study is to assess the aesthetic value of "buccal corridors" on smile attractiveness as judged by dentists and laypersons. In order to evaluate the aesthetic impact of the "buccal corridors", a pleasant smile (frontal view) was scanned (Scanner HP 5490C, 1200 x 1200 dpi) and modified (Adobe Photoshop 5.0) by a professional computer technician. Three pictures have been produced, one with minimal corridors (no 1), another with evident corridors (no 2), and a third one with moderate corridors (no 3). During a survey 1275 laypersons (413 M, 862 F; 14 to 77 years) and 646 dentists (361 M, 285 F; from 25 to 80 years) were asked to indicate the most pleasant and the most unpleasant smile and to fill in a short questionnaire; the data have been statistically evaluated through an ANOVA test. Among the laypersons: 838 (65.72%) chose the first smile; 91 (7.13%) the second one; whereas 346 (27.13%) the third one. The differences are statistically significant (p .05); no statistical differences were found by analyzing the gender and the age of the groups. Among the dentists: 481 (74.46%) preferred the first smile; 44 (6.81%) the second one; whereas 121 (18.73%) the third one, the differences are statistically significant (p .05), no statistical differences were found by analyzing the gender and the age of the groups. Moreover no statistical differences were found by comparing the two different groups. Therefore, a full, broad smile with minimal "buccal corridors" seems to please dentists as well as laypersons and age and gender were not relevant.