RESUMEN
OBJECTIVE: This study was performed to validate the autonomous maximal smile (AMS) as a new reference for evaluating dental and gingival exposure. METHODS: Digital video clips of 100 volunteers showing posed smiles and AMS at different verbal directives were recorded for evaluation a total of three times at 1-week intervals. Lip-teeth relationship width (LTRW) and buccal corridor width (BCW) were measured. LTRW represented the vertical distance between the inferior border of the upper vermilion and the edge of the maxillary central incisors. Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) for reproducibility, and the m-value (minimum number of repeated measurements required for an ICC level over 0.75), were calculated. RESULTS: LTRW and BCW of the AMS were 1.41 and 2.04 mm, respectively, greater than those of the posed smile (p < 0.05), indicating significantly larger dental and gingival exposure in the AMS. The reproducibility of the AMS (0.74 to 0.77) was excellent, and higher than that of the posed smile (0.62 to 0.65), which had fair-to-good reproducibility. Moreover, the m-value of the AMS (0.88 to 1.05) was lower than that of the posed smile (1.59 to 1.85). CONCLUSIONS: Compared to the posed smile, the AMS shows significantly larger LTRW and BCW, with significantly higher reproducibility. The AMS might serve as an adjunctive reference, in addition to the posed smile, in orthodontic and other dentomaxillofacial treatments.