An aesthetic component of the IOTN for black subjects.

A study was undertaken among black evaluators to determine their perceptions about anterior dental aesthetics in Negroid subjects with bimaxillary protrusion. One hundred evaluators assessed photographs of the anterior occlusion of 24 patients with varying complexity of bimaxillary protrusion. These adjudicators were requested to select the 5 best and the 5 worst among the 24 photographs. The 10 selected photographs were then shown to 343 Grade nine, 219 Grade twelve and 260 university students, who were required to select the most attractive, second most attractive, most unattractive, second most unattractive and an average photograph. The average ages of the groups of Grade nine, Grade twelve and university students were 15, 19 and 24 years respectively. Results were analysed statistically to determine the 5 most selected photographs in these categories. These photographs are presented and it is hoped to add them to the aesthetic component of the Index of Orthodontic Treatment Need (IOTN) so as to extend the use of this valuable index to include subjects with bimaxillary protrusion common to South Africa and Africa in general.