The mandible position has influence in getting a job position?

By Hallissa Simplício Gomes Pereira, Adjunct professor, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, RN, Brazil

Mandible position – more advanced or retracted – does have some influence over face attractiveness, being hired for a job and the socio-economic profile perception of individuals. That was the conclusion reached by a group of researchers from the Dentistry School of the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN), published on Dental Press Journal of Orthodontics, volume 22, issue 3. Research was conducted by Prof. Hallissa Simplício Gomes Pereira, Adjunct Faculty at UFRN.

A black man, a white man, a black woman and a white woman, with harmonic faces, served as models to obtain facial profile photographs. Each picture was digitally manipulated as to obtain seven facial profiles: one ideal, three simulating a mandible advancement situation, and three simulating mandible retraction, totalizing 28 pictures altogether. These pictures were assessed by four groups of examiners through a questionnaire, namely: orthodontists, oral and maxillofacial surgeons, visual artists and lay persons

Results revealed that the position of the mandible had great impact on how pleasant the face of an individual may look. Profiles selected as the most attractive were also considered as more favourable to being hired to a job position. Few significant differences among the different groups of examiners were observed.

“Therefore, a strong relation between facial attractiveness and the easiness people experience to be employed can be observed”, according to the authors words. When asked about which profile seemed to have the better socio-economic condition, by and large, the same profiles selected as more attractive and worthy of job positions were also pointed out as having higher socio-economic status. Hence, this study casts some light on the relevant role played by orthodontics within the social context.

Other authors had already carried out similar studies (JOHNSTON, et al., 2005; KURODA, et al., 2009). However, none of them had assessed the influence of such feature on the socio-economic profile perception. Another interesting aspect consists of including the group of visual artists, whose background does not share any technical knowledge to orthodontist’s and surgeon’s, but who equally apply aesthetic principles to build their judgement.

References

JOHNSTON, C., et al. The influence of mandibular prominence on facial attractiveness. Eur J Orthod. [online]. 2005, vol. 27, no. 2, pp. 129-133, ISSN: 1460-2210 [viewed 20 November 2017]. DOI: 10.1093/ejo/cjh093. Avaliable from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15817618

KURODA, S., et al. Influence of anteroposterior mandibular positions on facial attractiveness in Japanese adults. Am J Orthod Dentofacial Orthop. [online]. 2009, vol. 135, no. 1, pp.73-78, ISSN: 0889-5406 [viewed 20 November 2017]. DOI: 10.1016/j.ajodo.2006.12.021. Avaliable from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19121504

To read the article, access it:

SENA, L. M. F., et al. The influence of sagittal position of the mandible in facial attractiveness and social perception. Dental Press J. Orthod. [online]. 2017, vol. 22, no. 2, pp. 77-86, ISSN: 2176-9451 [viewed 20 November 2017]. DOI: 10.1590/2177-6709.22.2.077-086.oar. Avaliable from: http://ref.scielo.org/99jm6m