Soft-tissue cephalometric norms in a South Indian ethnic population.
BACKGROUND
An esthetically pleasing smile is a key determinant of successful orthodontic treatment and patient satisfaction. The great variance in soft-tissue drape of the human face complicates accurate assessment of the soft-tissue profile. Variability is also characteristic of different faces and facial types, and normative data based on 1 population group do not represent all. This study was undertaken to establish norms for a South Indian ethnic population.


METHODS
The sample comprised lateral cephalograms taken in natural head position of 60 normal subjects (30 men, 30 women). The cephalograms were analyzed with a soft-tissue cephalometric analysis for orthodontic diagnosis and treatment planning, and the Student t test was used to compare the means of the 2 groups.


RESULTS
Statistically significant differences were found between South Indian men and women in certain key parameters. Men have thicker soft-tissue structures and a more acute nasolabial angle than women. Men have longer faces, and women have greater interlabial gap and maxillary incisor exposure. Men have more deep-set facial structures than women. Compared with established norms for white people, South Indian subjects have more deep-set midfacial structures and more protrusive dentitions.


CONCLUSIONS
Statistically significant differences were found between South Indian men and women in certain key parameters. Differences were also noted between white and South Indian faces.
Department of Orthondontics, Center for Evidence Based Dentistry, and Institute of Dental Studies and Technologies, Modinagar, Uttar Pradesh, India. anmolkalha@gmail.com
Anmol S
AS
Kalha
Anwar
A
Latif
S N
SN
Govardhan
D000328:Adult; D044466:Asian People; D002508:Cephalometry; D005145:Face / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007194:India; D008297:Male; D012016:Reference Values; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D044465:White People