Soft tissue morphology of Jordanian adolescents

Abstract

Objective: To determine soft tissue cephalometric norms of a sample of Jordanian adolescents and to compare them with those of North Americans.

Materials and methods: Forty-one subjects aged 14 to 17 years were selected from a larger random and representative sample of 320 adolescents attending 12 schools in the capital of Jordan, Amman. Seven reference lines were identified and traced according to definitions by Holdaway and Ricketts, and 2 angular and 12 linear measurements were analyzed.

Results: Significant differences were found between males and females in measurements of soft tissue facial angle, H angle, subnasale to H line, basic upper lip thickness, upper lip thickness and labrale inferius and superius to E line (P < .05). Males had a more prominent upper lip in relation to the overall soft tissue profile, while the lips of females were considerably more retrusive in relation to the nose and chin. Jordanian norms were similar to those of North Americans, with only two exceptions: the H angle and skeletal convexity which were 5.4 degrees and 3.2 mm greater in Jordanians, respectively.

Conclusions: Jordanian soft tissue norms were similar to American norms with the exception of the former having a more prominent upper lip position in relation to the overall soft tissue profile.

Figure 1.

Reference lines and angles used in the present study. 1: Harmony line, 2: sella-nasion line, 3: Soft tissue facial line, 4: Hard tissue facial plane, 5: Frankfort horizontal plane, 6: Frankfort perpendicular line, A: soft tissue facial angle, B: H angle