Objectives: Acquiring the ability to identify deviations in dental aesthetic norms has been considered as an essential skill for the development of a dental professional. The timing and quality of this development of aesthetic perception has not been explicitly discussed in the dental education literature. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of dental training on the development of smile aesthetic perception, and to compare this perception between dental students and medical students in a similar cohort.
Methods: One-hundred dental and medical students were invited to complete a self-administered questionnaire, designed to evaluate eight images; using a visual analogue scale (1 least attractive; 100 most attractive). The students rated the smile aesthetics of one ‘model' smile image, and seven digitally modified smiles representing major variations in smile features. Data were analyzed using the independent student's t-test.
Results: forty-four male and fifty-five female participants were successfully recruited, with a response rate of 99%. Dental students' ratings of smile aesthetics were significantly lower than medical students for seven of the eight images (p < 0.05). This difference was greatest for the model smile image, and least for the diminutive lateral incisors image. There were no statistically significant gender-related differences.
Conclusions: Within the limitation of this study, the dental curriculum has a significant impact on developing students' perception of dental aesthetics. Longitudinal studies with larger samples sizes, are needed to examine if progress through the dental curriculum affects students' perception of dental aesthetics.