The role of personality traits in self‐rated oral health and preferences for different types of flawed smiles

Abstract

Symmetric, aligned and luminous smiles are usually classified as 'beautiful' and aesthetic. However, smile perception is not strictly governed by standardised rules. Personal traits may influence the perception of non-ideal smiles. We aimed to determine the influence of personality traits in self-rated oral health and satisfaction and in the aesthetic preference for different strategically flawed smiles shown in photographs. Smiles with dark teeth, with uneven teeth, with lip asymmetry and dental asymmetry were ordered from 1 to 4 as a function of the degree of beauty by 548 participants, of which 50·7% were females with a mean age of 41·5 ± 17·6 years (range: 16-89 years). Self-assessment and oral satisfaction were recorded on a Likert scale. Personality was measured by means of the Big Five Inventory (extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism and openness), and the Life Orientation Test was used to measure optimism and pessimism. Of the four photographs with imperfect smiles, dental asymmetry was the most highly assessed in 63% of the sample, and the worst was lip asymmetry, in 43·7% of the sample. Some personality traits (above all conscientiousness and openness) were significantly correlated with the position assigned to the photographs with dental and lip asymmetry or with misaligned teeth. The extraversion, agreeableness and openness traits were correlated with the self-perceptions of oral health and aesthetics of the participants. Dental asymmetry seems to be better tolerated than lip asymmetry. Personality traits are weakly but significantly correlated with the aesthetic preference and oral health values, conscientiousness and openness being the most relevant domains in this sense.

Effect of personality on oral health–related quality of life in undergraduates

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La influencia de la personalidad en la percepción de los cuidados sobre la salud de los jóvenes españoles

“…Por otra parte, la Extraversión (E) se caracteriza por la mayor cantidad e intensidad de las interacciones interpersonales. Debido a esa tendencia hacia la socialización y el gregarismo, parece lógico pensar que las personas más extrovertidas cuidan más hábitos relacionados con su imagen personal como son la alimentación (Montero et al, 2016). Esta misma tendencia quizá influya en la mayor cantidad de interacciones sexuales, esta característica junto a la mayor asertividad que disponen, explicaría el mayor cuidado que realizan en el ámbito sexual.…”

Providing a harmonious smile with laminate veneers for a patient with peg-shaped lateral incisors

“…The smile is one of the most important components of perception and self-perception of people. [ 1 ] It directly influences the facial expression and physical attractiveness of individuals. [ 1 ] People with beautiful and harmonic smiles are directly associated with positive characteristics such as intelligence, good health, friendliness, and extroversion.…”

“…[ 1 ] People with beautiful and harmonic smiles are directly associated with positive characteristics such as intelligence, good health, friendliness, and extroversion. [ 1 ]…”