Soft-tissue cephalometric norms for north Indian Mongoloids

IntroductionHarmonious facial esthetics and functional occlusion have long been recognized as the two most important goals of orthodontic treatment. The purpose of this study was: (1) To establish soft tissue cephalometric norms for Mongoloid tribes of north India using Holdaway analysis. (2) To study the sexual dimorphism in soft tissue cephalometric norms of this population. (3) To compare the norms obtained in this study with Holdaway norms.MethodsLateral cephalometric radiographs of 60 north Indian Mongoloid subjects (30 male, 30 female) in the age group of 18–25 years with normal occlusion and well balanced faces were used. The cephalograms were analyzed with Holdaway soft tissue cephalometric analysis. Unpaired t-test was used to compare results obtained for Mongoloid subjects with Holdaway norms and to determine sexual dimorphism.ResultsStatistically significant differences were found for nose prominence, superior sulcus depth, soft tissue subnasale to H-line, basic upper lip thickness, max incisor to upper lip, H-angle, lower lip to H-line and soft tissue chin thickness. In comparison of sexes, statistically significant differences were found for basic upper lip thickness, max incisor to upper lip and H-angle.ConclusionThese results show that the soft tissue facial profile of north Indian Mongoloid subjects and North-Europeans are different. These racial differences must be considered during diagnosis and treatment planning.