Peer assessment of dental attractiveness

Introduction: The objectives of the study were to determine the relative importance of various dental features that contribute to overall dental attractiveness and to test the validity of the concepts of golden proportion and golden percentage as applied to the human dentition. Methods: Sixty 30-year-old subjects (29 men, 31 women) were selected from the 20-year longitudinal Cardiff Survey. Color photographs of the subjects’ dentitions were taken with the lips retracted so that their teeth and gums were clearly exposed. Twelve nondentists, aged 32 to 33 years, equally divided according to sex, rated the subjects’ dental appearances on a 5-point Likert attractiveness scale. The maxillary anterior teeth were measured, and relevant ratios were calculated and compared with the golden proportion. Factor analyses and linear regression were used to investigate the hierarchy of dental features, and variance components analysis was used to estimate interrater agreement. Results and conclusions: Overall dental attractiveness did not depend on any particular feature of the dentition. A hierarchy of various features was established, with crown shape ranked highest, and tooth and gum color ranked lowest. The golden proportion and the golden percentage were not decisive factors in determining dental attractiveness.