RODRIGUES, Caroline de Deus Tupinambá; LOFFREDO, Leonor de Castro Monteiro; CANDIDO, Maria Salete Machado    OLIVEIRA JUNIOR, Osmir Batista de. Influence of aesthetic norm variations on the attractiveness of a smile. RGO, Rev. gaúch. odontol. (Online) []. 2010, 58, 3, pp. 307-311. ISSN 1981-8637.

OBJECTIVE: The work presented here aims to evaluate how aesthetic norm variations influence the perception of attractiveness of a smile according to dentists and laymen. METHODS: The smiles in photographs of a man and a woman were digitally changed. Eleven smiles were created for each one: an ideal, control smile - an ideal smile according to accepted norms - and 10 smiles containing individual variations of each of the following norms: a) 2mm and 3mm deviations from the middle line; b) the contour of the smile - contour of a straight smile and contour of a reverse smile; c) the angle of the lateral incisors - a mesial angle of 10º and a distal angle of 10º; d) 0.5mm and 1mm diastema; and e) dental proportion - Alber's Proportion and Plato's Proportion. The photographs were evaluated by two specialists in cosmetic dentistry and two laymen using the visual analogue scale. RESULTS: The ideal smile for both genders was well accepted by both the specialists and the laymen. The opinions on the smiles with aesthetic variations varied, some were more positive than others, some were in agreement and some were in disagreement. CONCLUSION: The absence of deviations favors the perceived beauty of a smile, but some aesthetic variations seem to be better accepted than others. The success of aesthetic treatments depends on the active participation of dentists and patients in the planning stage

: esthetic; perception; smiling.