Challenging the Aesthetic Standards in Latino Populations

Dr. Arana, who like the other speakers here donated his time and fee to help Haitian dentists, said at the congress you could see "the effort and desire to work for the practice from colleagues such as Dr. Adán Yañez," president of the Ibero Latin American Dental Federation (FDILA).

The Colombian researcher gave two lectures here, one of them on a topic of great importance --"Aesthetic parameters of beauty in the Latin America population," an issue he's been investigating for ten years.

The biomaterials, surgical and cosmetic dentistry expert, said that plastic surgeons and many cosmetic dentists are "following patterns that do not conform with the Latin America biotype or our ethnic characteristics", which prevents many from achieving the results desired by the patient.

Key Findings
The team led by Dr. Arana has identified fundamental issues for the future of cosmetic dentistry in Latin America. For instance, "horizontal measures ideals in which many interventions are based to estimate the proportion of the teeth are not applicable to our biotype because they are not related to our facial shape."

The same applies to studies on the types of lips and smiles in the Latin American population: they are different from those of the Caucasians. Dr. Arana explains that it is important to be aware of this, of understanding "our beauty," to create a Latin American identity and to satisfy customers.

The Latin America biotype, explains Dr. Arana, "is more lineal than the Caucasian, having a more compact body; our face is shorter and has a greater inter-cigomatic distance since our cheeks are wider, and we found no sexual dimorphism in the lower third of the face, that is, that both men and women's is of equal size, and that men have the third upper area of the face a bit more developed than women."

In addition, Arana's team points out "that while the horizonal gold proportions are not valid for Latinos, the vertical do apply as proposed research by Rickets and confirmed in our studies. The most frequent smile in Latin America is the commissural and the cervical, and when our patients smile is common that the edge of their upper teeth don't touch the lower lip."

The teeth of the Latin American population are lower and wider than the average measures, our mouth is wider and bigger, and men often have slightly higher teeth than women," continues Arana.

The New Gold Standard
After developing the standard measures for the Latin American population based on years of studies of physical features, Dr. Arana asked a Colombian designer to create a three-dimensional model following his general patterns of male and female beauty. The designer created a dark-skinned woman of mixed race, but he added blue eyes and blonde hair.

"This is a pattern of beauty imposed on us by the media, and it is hard to dismiss," said Dr. Arana, but thanks to the success of many Latin artists, "it is changing and we are beginning to recognize our own Latin beauty."

The Colombian expert cites as models of Latin beauty the singer Shakira and the Colombian model Carolina Cruz, a brunette with Latin features, representative of the typical biotype described by Arana.

In fact, Arana's group has created a template for Latino beauty, which includes smile measurements and proportions. The researcher says most people come to the dental office with an ideal prototype of beauty that usually has nothing to do with their features or their teeth.

"In the first appointment I explain to the patient the general parameters of his or her face," he continues," so that he or she can identify it. Then I explain that some parameters are not ideal for their kind of face, and ask them to find a photo with more similar features to him or her: so the patient goes through a learning curve, and in the second or third appointment he is much aware of his features and possibilities. Then, with an image program we design a prototype and show him or her what can be achieved. And most patients readily accept it, being more realistic than their initial expectations."

The research by Dr. Arana on Latino beauty standars will be published shortly in Dental Tribune Latin America.

Resources
• www.revista.grupobeo.com