Investigating visagism’s role in bridging dentofacial aesthetics and psychological temperament – A cross-sectional study
K. Naga Sai Saranya, K. C. Ponnappa, Ponappa Muckatira Cariappa, Keerthan BollammaAbstract
Context:
Visagism proposes that dentofacial morphology can be designed to reflect an individual’s psychological temperament, offering a conceptual framework for personalized smile design; however, empirical validation of this correlation remains limited.
Aims:
To investigate the association between smile aesthetics, classified according to the principles of visagism, and self-reported psychological temperament.
Settings and Design:
This cross-sectional observational study included 120 dentate individuals aged 18–30 years with well-aligned maxillary anterior teeth.
Materials and Methods:
Psychological temperament was determined using a validated 50-item self-report questionnaire, classifying participants as choleric, sanguine, melancholic, or phlegmatic. Independently, standardized frontal photographs of each participant’s smile were analyzed for tooth morphology, long-axis inclination, and embrasure line pattern to assign an aesthetic temperament, with assessors blinded to questionnaire outcomes.
Statistical Analysis Used:
Concordance between the two classifications was analyzed using the Pearson Chi-square test, Cramér’s V, and Cohen’s kappa.
Results:
Sanguine (50.00%) and melancholic (45.00%) temperaments predominated on questionnaire assessment, whereas melancholic (51.67%) and sanguine (36.67%) predominated on photographic assessment. A statistically significant association was observed between the two methods (
Conclusions:
A strong and statistically significant concordance was observed between self-reported psychological temperament and temperament inferred from maxillary anterior tooth morphology, lending empirical support to the principles of visagism as a framework for individualized, personality-congruent smile design.