Soft-tissue cephalometric norms in Yemeni men

Introduction: The main purpose of this study was to develop soft-tissue cephalometric standards for Yemeni men and compare them with the cephalometric standards of normal North American white people. Methods: Fifty Yemeni men (ages, 20-27 years; mean, 23.1 years) with normal occlusion were selected. With double selection by orthodontists and laypersons, a subsample of esthetically pleasing subjects was selected. Lateral cephalometric radiographs of all subjects were analyzed according to the Legan-Burstone and the Holdaway analyses. Results: The Yemeni esthetically pleasing subjects (YPG) and the remaining subjects (YNG) showed significant differences with respect to mandibular prognathism, lower face-throat angle, nasolabial angle, mentolabial sulcus depth, and interlabial gap, when compared with the Legan-Burstone norms for white Americans; the YPG also had significantly less obtuse facial convexity angle than the YNG. Most values of both Yemeni groups were generally within the range of the values reported by Holdaway, except for 3 variables: skeletal profile convexity, basic upper-lip thickness, and H-angle, which were all significantly larger than those of Holdaway; the YPG showed less skeletal profile convexity than the YNG. Conclusions: These results show that the soft-tissue facial profiles of white Yemenis and Americans are different in certain respects; these racial differences must be considered during diagnosis and treatment planning. These results should serve as a useful reference for orthodontists and maxillofacial surgeons who treat Yemeni patients and also contribute to more satisfactory diagnosis and treatment planning for them.