Influence of age, sex and occupation on the aesthetic perception of the facial profile

Objective: To study the influence of age, sex, and occupation in determining the aesthetic perception of the facial profile in the Chilean population through the analysis of silhouettes. Methods: From a profile photograph, a digital silhouette was designed, which was modified with 2mm movements from the original position of the chin, simulating mandibular protrusion and retrusion. The use of silhouettes allows for eliminating various distractions, prejudices, and predispositions when making an aesthetic judgment. All participants accepted informed consent. Results: 112 participants with a mean age of 33.99 ± 8.28 years were surveyed. When analyzing the most aesthetic option was a straight profile, followed by a slight retrusion of -2mm and a protrusion of +2mm. The least esthetic option was a severe protrusion of +12mm. Both results were repeated in all the groups analyzed. Conclusions: The results present similarities with the literature, however, the low concordance in this study may be due to possible indirect influences due to the contrast of the images that made up each set and the limited size of the studied sample. The present study was the first of these characteristics in a Chilean population.