Evaluation of the aesthetic perception of facial profile changes in black person

Vol. 13 – Number 50 – 2020 Original article Page 97-103 Evaluation of the aesthetic perception of facial profile changes in black person Linsmar de Almeida Campos¹ Emanuel Braga Rego² Nara Santos Araujo³ Abstract Purpose: To evaluate the aesthetic perception in different degrees of lip protusion and retrusion in a black male subject. Materials and Methods: The profile photograph of a black male model was manipulated in degrees of lip projection and retrusion in an image editing program. In the anteroposterior direction, the alterations were performed only on the lips, in the region limited by the nasolabial and mentolabial angles: in -5.0mm (concave profile), -3.0mm (slightly concave profile), 0mm (straight profile), +3.0mm (slightly convex profile) and +5.0mm (convex profile). A photographic album was assembled and presented to a sample of 327 lay people. They were asked about the possibility of perceiving differences in the images presented, answering with yes or no, and then selecting the image that most pleased them and the one least aesthetically pleased. Additionally, they were asked to rate all images with grades from 0 to 10. Results: Modifications were noticeable for 90% of lay evaluators, with higher scores for straight (7.38 ± 1.77) and slightly concave (7.39 ± 1.83) facial profiles, with similarities between them (p> 0.05). In the straight profile, significantly lower scores were recorded by male evaluators (7.17 ± 1.74; p = 0.01) and self-declared black (6.99 ± 1.93; p = 0.003). Conclusion: Retrusion and protrusion simulations in the lip position can generate differences in the facial profile that can be perceived by lay people, regardless gender, age and ethnicity, with the convex profile being the less attractive. Descriptors: Smile, visual perception, Orthodontics. ¹ Dental surgeon – UFBA. ² Specialist in Orthodontics – UNIFAL, PhD in Orthodontics, Hiroshima University – Japan, Adjunct Professor of Pediatric Dentistry and Orthodontics – UFBA. ³ Specialist in Dental Prosthesis – UFBA, Specialist in Collective Health – Brazilian Dentistry Association – BA, Mestre in Dentistry – UNESP, PhD student in Dentistry and Public Health – UFBA.