Background: Understanding the importance, value and self-image that the smile represents in the daily life of the individual remains a subject of high scientific interest. Aim: The present qualitative and exploratory study aims at understanding the importance of the self-perception of the mouth and smile on the mental representation of self-image and the well-being of the individual. Materials and Methods: The convenience sample consisted of 151 children and youngsters of both genders, ages 8-24 years, who used an orthodontic appliance and were invited to draw two portraits of their mouth/smile. Results: The results suggest differences in the mental representation of the mouth and the smile, namely in the investment of the drawings before and after the use of the orthodontic appliance, as well as in the expressiveness and manifestation of emotions. Discussion and Conclusions: The results suggest that the main reason that leads participants to the treatment is related to aesthetic and functional issues in which the maximizing of the mental representation of the Orthodontic Smile emerges as a new categorization of the perfect smile.

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Background and Aim: There is a shortage of empirical studies that combine the problem of malocclusion to the importance of the self-perception of the mouth/smile in the mental representation of the self-image of the face, which is the aim of the present qualitative and exploratory study. Subjects and Methods: The convenience sample consisted of 151 children and youngsters of both genders, aged 8-24 years, who used an orthodontic appliance for 6 months to 1 year, and were invited to draw two portraits of their mouth/smile before (M1) and after (M2) the use of an orthodontic appliance. Results: The main reasons that underpin the use of an orthodontic appliance are defined by the crooked teeth correction, malocclusion correction, and interdental spaces categories, in which having the perfect smile was only relevant to preteens. Discussion and Conclusions: In the present study, we have identified the orthodontic smile as a new categorization of a perfect smile associated with the social display of a look with perfect teeth.

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The facial symmetry from an esthetic standpoint is crucial. However, there are not much research that examine the malocclusion issue or the significance of the mouth and smile in the mental representation of the face. In this study, 151 kids and teenagers, both genders, aged 8 to 24, were asked to sketch two self-portraits of their mouths or smiles—before (and during) the usage of the orthodontic appliance. Participants seek therapy mostly for functional problems rather than cosmetic ones. The findings of this study provide insight into the significance of the mouth and smile for an individual’s sense of self and psychological well, where the maximization of the mental representation of the orthodontic smile emerges as a new categorization of the perfect smile.