Self-perceptions of Smile and Facial Attractiveness among Dentistry Students

Abstract

Background: Many factors are known to influence individuals’ understanding and awareness about their orofacial beauty, including age, sex, social and educational level. This manuscript attempts to identify perceptions of dental students about their own smile and their understanding about ideals of facial beauty as they are going to perform part of facial esthetic procedures after graduation. Methods: A convenience sampling method was used to recruit a sample of dental students at different stages of their study in college of dentistry. A printed questionnaire form was dispersed among the students containing demographic data and two sets of questions regarding characteristics of their own smile and their understanding about general ideals of facial beauty. Results: No significant differences emerged regarding age or sex in the students’ responses to questions related to their smile’s attractiveness. Whereas significant differences were found in the majority of responses to the other set of questions related to esthetic ideals of facial beauty between males and females but not between the two age groups. Conclusion: The outcome of the current study indicates similar awareness among male and female students about their own smiles. However, male and female students reported different outlooks toward facial beauty and attractiveness.