title: Assessment of facial asymmetry in growing subjects with a three-dimensional laser scanning system.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate facial asymmetry in growing subjects with no malocclusion on three-dimensional laser facial scans.
  
  
  METHODS
  Twenty-seven healthy Caucasian children (15 boys and 12 girls, aged 5.4 ± 0.3 years) in the primary dentition without malocclusion were randomly selected from a local kindergarten in Slovenia.
  
  
  METHODS
  Surface facial images were obtained using a three-dimensional laser scanning system at baseline and at 18, 30, 42 and 54 months of follow-up. Facial asymmetry was assessed quantitatively by measuring the average distance between facial image and mirrored image. Further, the percentage of asymmetry was calculated as the percentage of image to mirrored image not coinciding within 0.5 mm. Qualitative assessment was performed on colour deviation maps by recording the predominant side of the face for the upper, middle and lower parts of the face separately. Nonparametric tests were used for data analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  No face was perfectly symmetric. The average distance between the mirrored images for the whole face ranged 0.22-0.85 mm and the percentage of asymmetry 7.8-66.9. There were no significant gender differences (p > 0.05), and no significant change was found over the observed period. The upper part of the face was the least asymmetric, while the lower and middle parts showed similar degrees of asymmetry.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Facial asymmetry is already present at an early developmental stage and does not show any tendency to increase or decrease with growth in the pre-pubertal period.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dental and Jaw Orthopaedics, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Primozic
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Perinetti
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Zhurov
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Richmond
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ovsenik
mesh_terms: D002675:Child, Preschool; D005146:Facial Asymmetry / Q000175:diagnosis*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods; D007834:Lasers; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric