Changes in Smile Esthetics Following Orthodontic Treatment

Relevance of the problem and aim of the work. In modern society, desire to change esthetic appearance is one of the most impartant factors for seeking orthodontic treatment. Therefore, it is important to estimate smile changes after orthodontic treatment. Moreover, dentists should provide patients with smile analysis. The aim of this study was to evaluate changes in smile characteristics following extraction/nonextraction orthodontic treatment. Material and methods. The retrospective study was conducted among 80 patients of Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Department of Orthodontics. Extraoral pre- and post- treatment digital data was collected from ,,Dolphin Imaging” database. A standardized smile mesh analysis that evaluated seven smile variables was applied to extraction and nonextraction groups. The statistical analysis was performed using MS Excel and SPSS 22.0 programs, Mann-Whitney U, Wilcoxon, χ2, McNemar and Shapiro-Wik tests. Results. There was a significant increase in the posttreatment smile width and decrease in buccal corridor in the extraction group but not in the nonextraction group. On the other hand, there was an increase in the postreatment incisor exposure and smile height in the nonextraction group. However, there were no significant differences in any smile characteristic measured between the extraction and nonextraction subjects. Conclusions. Smile analysis revealed that there is an improvement in smile esthetics, after orthodontic treatment, with no difference between extraction and nonextraction patients