Methods to evaluate profile preferences for the anteroposterior position of the mandible.

INTRODUCTION: Facial profile disharmonies in the anteroposterior (AP) position of the mandible are among the most frequent reasons that patients seek orthodontic treatment. Various methods are available for assessing profile preferences, and differences between them could affect treatment decisions. The purposes of this study were to compare and contrast 3 methods of evaluating profile preferences for the AP position of the mandible. METHODS: Facial profile preferences of white orthodontists (n = 28) and white (n = 56) and Japanese-American (n = 55) laypeople were evaluated. The esthetic significance of variations in the AP position of the mandible was investigated by using 3 methods: a traditional semantic differential scale, the Perceptometrics method (Health Programs Intl, Wellesley, Mass), and the implicit association test (IAT). RESULTS: Findings from the semantic differential scale show that, overall, there is a general preference among orthodontists and laypeople for an orthognathic profile (P <.001). Findings from the Perceptometrics method indicate that orthodontists consider the most pleasing profile to be more forward than do lay subjects (P <.001). The IAT results show a positive bias among all 3 groups toward orthognathic profiles and a negative bias toward profiles with mandibular retrognathism or prognathism. The IAT suggested that laypeople were more tolerant of mandibular prognathism in men than in women (P <.01), and more tolerant of mandibular retrognathia in white women than in men (P = .03). CONCLUSIONS: These results support the benefits of using both implicit and explicit methods to assess facial profile preferences.

Occlusal perceptions of children seeking orthodontic treatment: impact of ethnicity and socioeconomic status.

INTRODUCTION: With the growth of orthodontic intervention at younger ages and increased interest in improving dentofacial appearance among the general public, it is important to assess whether demand for treatment is uniform across ethnic and socioeconomic groups. METHODS: This study compared 3 groups of children who varied by location, payment source, and ethnicity. The sample consisted of 150 children in the Bronx, NY, and 100 in Seattle, Wash, who were undergoing or anticipating orthodontic treatment in publicly funded dental clinics. Ethnic minorities comprised 69% and 92%, respectively, of these groups. The third group consisted of 84 children in Seattle, Anchorage (Alaska), and Chicago who had sought treatment by private practitioners; ethnic minorities comprised 22% of this group. Data were collected from children and parents or guardians by questionnaires. RESULTS: Desire for treatment was higher among children in the publicly funded clinics and among black children than whites or Asian Americans. Children in publicly funded clinics rated themselves as having worse occlusions as determined by anterior crowding, overbite, overjet, diastema, and open bite. Children in the Bronx clinic accepted a wider range of occlusion as attractive. Stage of treatment affected judgments of attractiveness. Vicarious experience with orthodontics through parents or siblings made children more tolerant of dentofacial disharmony, with more favorable ratings of malocclusion in this group than among children who had no family experience with orthodontics. Hispanic and mixed-ethnicity children rated themselves more negatively on all dimensions. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that both socioeconomic status and ethnicity play roles in children's desire for treatment, self-assessed need, and judgments of esthetics. A clinician's sensitivity to such differences can improve patient cooperation with treatment.