Interdental Spacing and Perceived Smile aesthetics. Version 1.8
Research type
Research Study
Full title
The influence of varying interdental spacing on perceived smile aesthetics
IRAS ID
198959
Contact name
Thomas Dietrich
Contact email
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
ERN_16-0161, , University of Birmingham Research Governance Database
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 7 months, 1 days
Research summary
Spacing between the teeth (interdental spacing) at the front of the mouth has been found to negatively impact the quality of life of children and their parents. Research has shown that one of the main reasons that patients seek orthodontic treatment is to improve their appearance and psychological well-being. The index of orthodontic treatment need (IOTN) is the scale used to determine the eligibility for orthodontic treatment funded by the NHS. In an increasingly aesthetically aware society orthodontists have highlighted one of the weaknesses of the IOTN is that it does not take interdental spacing into consideration.
The aim of this study is to understand if variation in amounts of interdental spacing can affect perceptions of smile aesthetics amongst children, lay people, orthodontists and general dentists.
The child participants will be recruited from the paediatric dentistry waiting room at the Birmingham Dental Hospital and will be eligible to take part if both the parent and the child consent. Lay adults, will be recruited from the University of Birmingham Business School. The professional groups will be recruited from professional societal meetings. Eligibility relies on falling into one of these groups and being able to understand English.
The participants will be asked to rate a series of randomly ordered images which have been digitally manipulated to show varying amounts of interdental spacing at different sites at the front of the mouth. They will be asked to mark how attractive they perceive each smile on the image to be, on a 10 centimeter visual analogue scale (VAS). The study will take approximately 15minutes to complete. 10% of adult participants will be asked to complete the study again 2 weeks later.
REC name
London - Brent Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
16/LO/1203
Date of REC Opinion
20 Jun 2016
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion