Smile arcs of Caucasian and Korean youth.

This study was designed to measure and compare the smile arcs (tooth and lip arcs) of young Caucasian and Korean subjects. Two hundred subjects (100 male and 100 female) were selected from Caucasian and Korean students. Class photographs taken with a digital camera showing the subjects with a posed smile were used for this study. Curves were rendered as semitransparent overlays, which were manipulated over the images using Adobe Photoshop to determine the best fit for tooth and lip arcs. There were statistically significant differences due to ethnicity and gender. Mean lip arcs had greater curvature than mean tooth arcs.