EGERSUND, People have a higher opinion of their smiles than the dentists who preserve them, a small study of 78 patients in Norway found.

The dental patients -- who averaged 51 years of age and included 50 women and 28 men -- were asked to rate their smile on a 100-point satisfaction scale. The patients' regular dentist and an independent periodontist also rated the patients' smiles from photographs, using the same satisfaction 100-point scale.
 

The study, published in the Journal of the American Dental Association, found the patients, who were not actively seeking cosmetic dental treatments, gave their smiles an average score of 59.1 on the 100-point scale. On the other hand, the independent periodontist's scores averaged 38.6 and the patients' own dentist averaged 40.7.

The researchers explained that patients may have expressed their opinions of their smiles from memory, while the dentists made their assessments from photographs.

Source : UPI