Method: Six different types of orthopedic face masks made from images of the same patient were evaluated. Initially the images were standardized with the help of Adobe Photoshop CS software. The variable considered was type of mask (A- Delaire with facebow, B- Petit, C- Delaire, D- Turley, E- Hickham and F- Sky Hook). After image acquisition, the images were printed on photographic paper and incorporated into a specific personalized questionnaire. The questionnaire was distributed to children in the age-range from 7 to 10 years, attending public and private schools (n=120). The data obtained were compared by the Chi-square and Fisher tests. For the scores attributed to each image, the Mann-Whitney test was used, and between groups, Spearman’s Correlation. The level of significance adopted was 5%.
Result: The proportion of participants who chose image A as the best was statistically higher, with statistical difference (P<.05) compared with the other masks. Images B and F were elected as being the worst, without statistical difference between them (P>.05). The mean scores between groups were not significantly correlated between the private vs. Public school (r = 0.32) and between boys and vs. girls (r = 0.41).
Conclusion: The Delaire face mask with facebow was shown to be the most attractive, and the Petit and Sky Hook the least attractive.