| dc.description.abstract | The perception of a smile is influenced by various factors, including education level. Adolescents are a group highly sensitive to their personal appearance. This study aimed to analyze the level and differences in the perception of an estetis smile between high school students and entry-level dental students in Medan. This observational analytic study with a cross-sectional design involved 556 respondents, consisting of 365 students from SMA Negeri 15 Medan and 191 entry-level students from the Faculty of Dentistry, University of Sumatera Utara. Data were collected using an online questionnaire featuring 8 manipulated smile images (esthetic smile, tooth length, tooth color, tooth size, tooth edges, midline shift, diastema, and gingival display). Assessments used a 5-point Likert scale. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and the Chi-Square test. Overall, both groups had relatively similar perceptions. The smile with symmetrical proportions and no diastema was rated as the most estetis (mean >4.3), while diastema and midline deviation were rated as the least estetis (mean <2.5). The Chi-Square test showed statistically significant differences in perception for only two aspects: the estetis smile (p=0.028) and diastema (p=0.000), with dental students tending to be more critical. The other six smile aspects showed no significant differences (p>0.05). Significant differences were only found in the perception of the general estetis smile and the presence of diastema, indicating that early dental education begins to influence esthetic perception acuity, although not across all the aspects. | en_US |
