Establishing Esthetic Lateral Cephalometric Values for Thai Adults after Orthodontic Treatment

Abstract

Lateral cephalometric norms were developed and analyzed to define a pleasing profile and establish a treatment goal for each patient. However, there has been no consensus in Thai orthodontists in how a pleasing profile should be posttreatment. The purpose of this study is to develop the esthetic lateral cephalometric values in Thai adults with pleasing profile after orthodontic treatment and to compare values between males and females. The lateral profile photos from 18-37 year-old individuals who underwent orthodontic treatment were transformed to black silhouette and evaluated by 4 Thai orthodontists. The Likert 5-point scale was used to judge the attractiveness. Two hundred lateral cephalometric radiographs (100 males and 100 females) from the patients who had the pleasing profile were recruited. Thirty-five linear measurement values, 33 angle measurement values and 2 facial height ratios were measured and analyzed. Independent t-test or Mann-Witney U test was used to compare the data between genders. The results showed that the profile attractiveness evaluation on a Likert 5-point scale in males and females was 15.4±1.9 and 15.6±2.1, respectively. For lateral cephalometric analysis, females showed a significant flatter profile, upturned nose tip, upper and lower lips and chin protrusion than males. The upper and lower anterior teeth were more protruded in females. The anterior cranial base, maxillary and mandibular length were significantly larger in males. Our results have demonstrated that distinctive cephalometric goals were needed in order to achieve the pleasing profile in different genders.