Evaluation of the relationship between malar projection and lower facial convexity in terms of perceived attractiveness in 3-dimensional reconstructed images

Abstract Background This study aimed to investigate dental student’s perception of facial attractiveness with regard to different combinations of anteroposterior malar-jaw positions using 3-dimensional (3-D) reconstructed images of subjects. Methods Two Chinese young adults (1 male and 1 female) with straight profiles and average malar projections were selected for the study. 3-D facial images and cone-beam computed tomography images of these two subjects were superimposed using 3-D imaging software. Lateral and oblique views of nine different images were created by moving the maxillomandibular complex and/or zygomatic bone by 4 mm either forward or backward along the sagittal plane. One hundred three undergraduate dental students (n = 24, 33, and 46 students from the Year 3, 4, and 5, respectively) then scored lateral and 45° oblique view images of the newly reconstructed faces. Results In the present study, images with a neutral malar and retruded jaws were found to be the most attractive in both male and female subjects. In addition, the Protruded malar (PM) group (p