# Optimization of Image Capture Distance for Facial Thermograms in Dentistry
## 3 Results  
A total of thirty students in their third year of dental school volunteered and participated in this study [\(n\) = 30, women: 21 (70%), men: 9 (30%); mean age: 25.8 \(\pm\) 6.0]. The mean room temperature recorded at the study site was 22.07 \(\pm\) 0.36 \({}^{\circ}\)C (min: 21.3 \({}^{\circ}\)C, max: 22.6 \({}^{\circ}\)C). The relative humidity (%) was 0.36 \(\pm\) 0.05 (min: 0.3%, max: 0.5%). All participants were healthy and did not have any general or intraoral pathology that required any immediate care. None of the participants reported any pain or symptoms at the time of the thermographic imaging. The mean body temperature calculated as an average of the temperatures recorded from the two ears was 37.03 \(\pm\) 0.28 \({}^{\circ}\)C (median: 37.05 \({}^{\circ}\)C; min: 36.55 \({}^{\circ}\)C, max: 37.50 \({}^{\circ}\)C, range: 0.95). The average number of teeth present in the participants was 28.5 \(\pm\) 1.2 (min: 27, max: 32), and their mean DMF (T) score was 2.97 \(\pm\) 2.86 (min: 0.0, max: 11). The mean gingival and plaque indices were 0.004 \(\pm\) 0.01 and 0.16 \(\pm\) 0.52, respectively. The demographic information of the participants is given in Table 1.  
The distribution of participants with/without the presence of influencing factors/components is shown in Table 2. Four participants (13.3%) wore facial jewelry. The majority of the participants (\(n\) = 23, 76.7%) had some kind of cosmetic product applied on the face. Eighteen participants (60.0%) reported wearing spectacles in the last four hours, and 26 participants reported wearing either tight clothes or pressure stockings, or scarfs, headphones, caps, hats, and protection for the neck in the previous 1-4 h before the thermography photo session. Six participants reported being on medications that included sympathetic blockers, steroids, and vasoactive drugs. The detailed history for this consumption was not requested as it was beyond the scope of this study. Seven participants (23.3%) had undergone a professional dental hygiene procedure, and one of the participants (3.3%) had a physiotherapy session in the preceding 24 h. Twenty-one participants (70.0%) had reported brushing their teeth four hours prior, and six (20.0%) had also used a mouthwash, while four participants (13.3%) reported using an interdental device. Nineteen (63.3%) and seven (23.3%) participants reported drinking a beverage and eating something, respectively, one hour prior to the session. The other details of the food and beverage consumed by the participants as well as other miscellaneous factors are listed in Table 2. \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{l c c c c c} \hline  & \(n\) (\%) & Mean & SD & Minimum & Maximum \\ \hline Participants & 30 (100.0) & & & & \\ \hline Age [in years] & & 25.8 & 6.0 & 21.0 & 45.0 \\ \hline Sex (\(n\)) & & & & & \\ \hline Men & 9 (30.0) & & & & \\ \hline Women & 21 (70.0) & & & & \\ \hline Body Temperature & & & & & \\ \hline Right ear & 37.00 & 0.27 & 36.5 & 37.5 \\ \hline Left ear & 37.05 & 0.32 & 36.5 & 37.6 \\ \hline Average of right and left ear & 37.03 & 0.28 & 36.6 & 37.5 \\ \hline No. of teeth present & 28.53 & 1.20 & 27.0 & 32.0 \\ \hline DMF (T) & & 2.97 & 2.86 & 0.0 & 11.0 \\ \hline D & 0.03 & 0.18 & 0.0 & 1.0 \\ \hline F & 2.93 & 2.85 & 0.0 & 11.0 \\ \hline M & 0.00 & 0.00 & 0.0 & 0.0 \\ \hline Gingival index & & 0.004 & 0.01 & 0.0 & 0.1 \\ \hline Plaque index & & 0.16 & 0.52 & 0.0 & 2.9 \\ \hline Presence of pain & & & & & \\ \hline No & 0 (0.0) & & & & \\ \hline Yes & 30 (100.0) & & & & \\ \hline Presence of any intra-oral findings & & & & & \\ \hline No & 29 (96.7) & & & & \\ \hline Yes & 1 (3.3) & & & & \\ \hline Room temperature & & & 22.07 & 0.36 & 21.3 & 22.6 \\ \hline Room relative humidity (\%) & & & 36 & 5 & 30 & 50 \\ \hline \end{tabular} \(n\)—number; %—percentage; SD—standard deviation.  
\end{table} 
Table 1: Participant demographics.