Evaluation of the Impact of Interdisciplinary Case-Based Courses in Dental Education on Smile Evaluation Skills of Undergraduate Students

Objective: The purpose of the present study was to compare the perception of smile aesthetic between 3rd-, 4th-, and 5th-year dental students to identify if interdisciplinary courses have an impact on the attitudes of students. Methods: A total of 118 dental students (3rd-, 4th-, and 5th-year; N=43, 43, and 32, respectively) assessed the aesthetic attractiveness of four smile photographs (normal, high, low, and asymmetric smile lines). To enhance the crown, length-to-width ratio and color Digital Smile Design (DSD) were applied to all photographs, and then scoring was performed by using the Visual Analog Scale (VAS). Results: The VAS scores were all 0.05), whereas statistical differences between 4th- and 5th-year dental students were found (Cases 1, 2, and 3:p<0.05 and Case 4: p