The visual perception of aligned and crowded maxillary lateral incisors when smiling via eye tracking

Background. This study aimed to investigate whether the alignment of the teeth while smiling alters the visual perception by laypeople using eye tracking.

Methods. Facial images (two males and two females) were digitally edited to show a smile pattern with aligned teeth and one with crowded teeth. Sixty laypeople were selected to observe the images. The number of fixations, fixation duration, and time until the first fixation were recorded using an eye-tracking system. The results were qualitatively calculated with dot maps. Numerical data were analyzed using an independent Student’s t test.

Results. There were no significant differences in fixation duration and the number of fixations in the crowded smile, mainly that of the male. The fixation times for the teeth were significantly different when the participants viewed the male subjects with a crowded smile (P<0.05). Dot maps showed greater attention to the smile with crowded teeth in both genders.

Conclusion. The crowded maxillary incisor smile attracted more visual attention to males from laypeople.