ABSTRACT

Background: The influence of the vertical position of the canine on the perception of smile esthetics by orthodontists and general dentists is not known and is objective of this study.

Methods: Smile photograph of the male subject showing the gingival zeniths was selected and the modified images were used varying from 1.0mm of intrusion to 1.0mm of extrusion, with and without the gingival display.

Results: For both orthodontists and general dentists, the canine vertical position modifications had no statistically significant difference (P<0.005) and the gingival exposure had significant influence on the smile with 1mm extrusion for both the orthodontist and general dentist and the standard smile for the orthodontists only.

Conclusion: Orthodontists were more critical in their assessment for most of the smile photographs.

Keywords: Intrusion, extrusion, smile attractiveness, symmetry, esthetics