Short answer
Designers working in dental aesthetics should be aware that their target audience's perception of 'ideal' can be influenced by their level of professional training and exposure to specific design principles.
- Field
- Classic Design
- Source
- BDJ Open (2020)
- Method
- Questionnaire-based comparative study
- Sample
- 123 participants
- Evidence
- Moderate effect
As dental students progress through their education, their aesthetic preferences for smiles evolve, indicating a learned appreciation for specific dental characteristics. This classic design research insight is drawn from a 2020 study published in BDJ Open. Using Questionnaire-based comparative study with 123 participants, researchers explored how this design variable affects real-world outcomes. The key design takeaway: Designers working in dental aesthetics should be aware that their target audience's perception of 'ideal' can be influenced by their level of professional training and exposure to specific design principles.
Dental student perceptions of smile aesthetics diverge based on educational stage.
As dental students progress through their education, their aesthetic preferences for smiles evolve, indicating a learned appreciation for specific dental characteristics.
BDJ Open · 2020
Key Findings
- 01Clinical dental students rated the 'ideal smile' image more highly than preclinical students.
- 02Preclinical students found retroclined incisors less aesthetically pleasing compared to clinical students.
- 03Clinical students found a midline diastema less aesthetically pleasing than preclinical students.
- 04Ethnicity did not appear to influence perceptions of smile aesthetics.
Application
Design takeaway
Designers working in dental aesthetics should be aware that their target audience's perception of 'ideal' can be influenced by their level of professional training and exposure to specific design principles.
How to apply
When designing dental prosthetics or orthodontic treatments, consider that the perceived success of a design may vary depending on the viewer's level of aesthetic training.
Project actions
- 01When evaluating aesthetic designs, consider how your own background or training might influence your judgment.
- 02If your design project involves aesthetics, think about who your target audience is and what their aesthetic standards might be.
Method & Evidence
Variables
Strengths & Limitations
Strengths
- +Direct comparison between two distinct groups of students.
- +Inclusion of digitally altered images to isolate specific aesthetic features.
Limitations
The sample was limited to dental students, so the findings might not apply to other groups or design fields.
Reliability & validity
Reliability could be assessed by having participants re-take the survey after a period, while validity would depend on how well the chosen smile images and ranking system truly capture aesthetic perception.
Think critically
To what extent are aesthetic preferences innate versus learned, and how does this apply to other design disciplines beyond dentistry?
Design Principles
"Aesthetic preferences are malleable and can be refined through specialized education and exposure to established design paradigms."
Understanding how aesthetic judgments change with professional training is crucial for educators and practitioners. It highlights the influence of specialized knowledge on subjective perceptions and can inform curriculum development and patient communication strategies in dental design and treatment planning.
What This Means for Your Design
What looks good in a smile changes as dental students learn more about teeth and how they should look.
How to use in your project
- 1.Use this to explain how your own aesthetic choices in your design project might be influenced by your learning, or how a user's aesthetic preferences might differ based on their experience.
Add to My Project
Quick Cite
Paragraph starter
The study by Aljefri and Williams (2020) suggests that aesthetic perceptions are not fixed but can be significantly influenced by specialized education. As dental students progressed from preclinical to clinical stages, their preferences for smile aesthetics evolved, indicating that learned criteria shape subjective judgments. This implies that for any design project involving aesthetics, understanding the target audience's level of expertise or exposure to design principles is crucial for effective communication and design validation.
Source
BDJ Open
The perceptions of preclinical and clinical dental students to altered smile aesthetics
journal · 2020
View sourceQuestions About This Research
- What does the research say about dental student perceptions of smile aesthetics diverge based on educational stage?
- Designers working in dental aesthetics should be aware that their target audience's perception of 'ideal' can be influenced by their level of professional training and exposure to specific design principles. Evidence: BDJ Open (2020).
- Why does "Dental student perceptions of smile aesthetics diverge based on educational stage." matter for design?
- Understanding how aesthetic judgments change with professional training is crucial for educators and practitioners. It highlights the influence of specialized knowledge on subjective perceptions and can inform curriculum development and patient communication strategies in dental design and treatment planning.
- How can designers apply this research?
- Designers working in dental aesthetics should be aware that their target audience's perception of 'ideal' can be influenced by their level of professional training and exposure to specific design principles.
- What were the main findings?
- Clinical dental students rated the 'ideal smile' image more highly than preclinical students.. Preclinical students found retroclined incisors less aesthetically pleasing compared to clinical students.. Clinical students found a midline diastema less aesthetically pleasing than preclinical students.. Ethnicity did not appear to influence perceptions of smile aesthetics.
- What research method was used?
- Questionnaire-based comparative study with 123 participants.
- How strong is the evidence?
- Evidence strength is rated Moderate effect, based on a 2020 journal from BDJ Open.
- What should I do differently in my next project?
- When designing dental prosthetics or orthodontic treatments, consider that the perceived success of a design may vary depending on the viewer's level of aesthetic training.
- What are the limitations?
- The study focused solely on dental students' perceptions and did not include the general population. The definition of 'ideal' smile was based on a single image, and the alterations were digital.