Background: Previous studies have reported some evaluation methods about profiles, but so far, they have no consistent agreement on the esthetic profiles of color images. Thus, the aim of this study was to determine whether the judges have different preferences about the color of the photograph and lip position for esthetic profiles when comparing a Chinese boy and girl.
Methods: The photographic records of a Chinese boy and girl with a good balanced profile were randomly selected. The images of the patients' profile were altered to produce silhouettes and black and white and color photographs (a total of six images). After evaluation by the judges, the best two photographs of the boy and girl were used to produce images of anterior-posterior lip positions with -6, -4, -2, 0, +2, +4, and +6 mm in relation to the esthetic plane, which was created by Ricketts. The judges were invited to enumerate the images in the order in which they considered the most attractive.
Results: The chromophotograph was chosen as the best way to express the facial profile in both the boy and girl. The profiles with a deviation of -4 mm in the boy and a deviation of -2 mm in the girl from line E were considered as the most attractive, and the image with a deviation of +6 mm from the normal line E was considered the least attractive. There were statistically significant differences between the preferences of the profiles of the boy and girl; the same results were recorded in the variables educational background and clinic role of the judges.
Conclusion: The chromophotograph was considered as the best way to evaluate the esthetic profiles, and the judges preferred the boy with a concave profile than the concave profile of the girl.
Keywords: chromophotograph; esthetic; orthodontic.