AUTHOR(S): Diana George, Prashanth Kamath, Arun Kumar BR, Rajat Scindhia, Raghuraj MB

ABSTRACT:Introduction: Esthetics is the Greek word for perception, deals with beauty and the beautiful. Esthetics in orthodontics is defined mainly in terms of profile enhancement. Esthetic judgment is made by viewing the patient from the front in dynamic states like conversation, facial expressions, and smiling.Analysis of dimensional changes of smile is an important stage for the diagnosis, treatment planning and prognosis of any dental treatment involving aesthetic objectives. The evaluation of the vertical dimensional changes of the smile is a necessary procedure to achieve consistent form in orthodontic treatments Aims and Objectives: The objectives of this study were to evaluate and quantify upper lip soft-tissue changes in the vertical dimensions at both rest and maximum smile, to assess the differences of dimensions between the sexes, to assess of differences between subjects with and without gingival display during the smile, quantification of differences in mandibular tooth exposure between the sexes and assessment of differences between different smile pattern groups. Materials and Methods: Eighty volunteers (40 men, 40 women) aged 20 to 40 (mean 24.76 years) were recruited for this study. For each subject, 10 measurements of upper lip position and maxillary and mandibular incisor crown height at rest and in maximum smile were recorded. The individual measurements were correlated with sex distribution. Also an assessment of smile pattern was done which was correlated with the sexes as well as the 10 individual measurements. Results: Relaxed and smiling external upper lip length was shorter in the women than in the men. Resting vermilion height and the maxillary central incisor height was also lesser in females than in males. The mean maxillary central incisor display at rest was greater in the women than in the men. A high smile line was 1.5 times more prevalent in the women. The upper lip was shortened by 31% in subjects with a high smile line compared with 39% in subjects with a low smile line. Conclusions: Thus most of the measured variables like in upper lip length during smiling as well as during resting, maxillary incisor display and the vermilion height showed statistically significant sexual dimorphism.

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