Methods: 177 students from a Faculty of Dental Medicine were observed and surveys were applied to the participants. Inclusion criteria involved individuals without teeth crowding and/or diastema, nor restorations on the upper anterior teeth. For data recording, a Canon 650D camera was used and all photographs were taken in a standardized manner. The measurement of the mesiodistal distance of all maxillary anterior teeth in a frontal view and the calculation of the GP were digitally obtained. Inferential statistics analysis was performed at a 5% significance level. Paired samples Student´s t-test was used to evaluate the differences between teeth. Independent samples Student´s t-test was used to compare GP in relation to gender, previous orthodontic treatment and satisfaction regarding the smile.
Results: The sample included 63 individuals with an average age of 22 years old (42 female and 21 male). Concerning the ratio Lateral Incisor/Central Incisor (LI/CI), 32.3% showed GP between teeth 12/11 and 41.9% between teeth 22/21. For the ratio Lateral Incisor/Canine (LI/C) on both sides, no GP was observed. 79% of the individuals were submitted to orthodontic treatment and 50.7% were satisfied with their smile. GP differences between both sides, as well as their relation with previous orthodontic treatment and smile satisfaction were not statistically significant (p>0.05). Crowding and/or diastema, color and gingival smile were identified as the main factors of dissatisfaction.
Conclusion: Although there was no GP between LI/C on both sides, proportion was present between LI/CI. Gender and orthodontic treatment did not appear to be factors with an influence on the presence of the GP. Most of the individuals were satisfied with their smile.