In provision of advice about aesthetic treatment need, visual stimuli
as a tool in communication may have some advantages compared with verb
al descriptions, in particular when children are addressed. The Aesthe
tic Component (AC) of the Index of Orthodontic Treatment Need is an il
lustrated scale for rating of dental attractiveness developed in the U
K and based on lay adults' ratings of dental photographs. This scale h
as also been recommended for use in patient education. The purpose of
the present study was to establish a sociocultural standard of referen
ce for Norway related to the AC, in order to examine the applicability
of the scale as a tool in patient information. Samples of 137 childre
n, 126 of their parents and 98 young adults were shown the 10 photogra
phs comprising the AC. The subjects were asked to assess the photograp
hs for dental attractiveness and orthodontic treatment need on a four-
category rating scare. The findings indicated that, in general, photog
raphs with an increasing scale point were rated as increasingly more u
nattractive. The majority (80-100 per cent) of the parents and young a
dults rated the five photographs on the unattractive end of the scale
to be in need of treatment. The children were significantly less criti
cal in their aesthetic judgements. Photographs representing borderline
need, identified for these groups to be scare points 5 and 6, have a
potential in guiding patients and parents in making informed decisions
about aesthetic treatment need.