J Dent Oral Biol | Volume 5, Issue 1 | Research Article | Open Access

How Attractive is the Maxillary Midline Diastema? Perception of Undergraduate Students Attending a Nigerian University

Enabulele Joan E* and Aghamogie Ehis

Department of Restorative Dentistry, University of Benin, Nigeria

*Correspondance to: Enabulele Joan E 

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Abstract

Background: Although, maxillary midline diastema is acceptable and seen as a sign of beauty among Nigerians, it is believed that the width of the diastema tends to affect the aesthetic acceptability of the diastema. Objectives: To determine the acceptable width of maxillary midline diastema among a population of undergraduate students. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study of undergraduate students. Data on socio-demographics, presence of midline diastema, self-assessment of the attractiveness of their smile and grading of a set of pictures with varying sizes of maxillary midline diastema. Data was analyzed using IBM-SPSS statistics 21.0. Results: A total of 333 participants whose age ranged from 16 to 30 years with a mean age of 21.8 ± 2.9 years were included in the study. The prevalence of midline diastema was 34.8%. Self-assessment of the attractiveness of their smile using the visual analogue scale was a mean of 6.93 ± 2.05. The width which was adjudged most attractive was 1 mm (38.1%) and the least attractive was 4 mm (51.4%). There was no statistically significant association between age, gender and the choice of the most attractive diastema width. Conclusion: The diastema width rated as most attractive was 1mm hence, the less the width of the diastema the more acceptable it is.

Keywords:

Maxillary midline diastema; Width; Nigerian

Citation:

Enabulele Joan E, Ehis A. How Attractive is the Maxillary Midline Diastema? Perception of Undergraduate Students Attending a Nigerian University. J Dent Oral Biol. 2020; 5(1): 1158. ISSN: 2475-5680.

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