Determination of Harmony Values of the Facial Profile in the Chilean Population

Marcelo Pérez G.; Susana Carreño L.; Pamela Araya-Díaz; Juan Guillermo Parada I.; Hernán Palomino M.; Vicente Martínez R. & Mauricio Campos P.

Summary

Performing an orthodontic treatment based only on hard tissue references can lead to unfavorable aesthetic results due to the great variability that exists in soft tissues that cover them. In 1999, W.Arnett, presented an analysis based on soft tissues and determined norms that define a harmonious face. However, these standards that were obtained from North Americans and Chilean aesthetic concepts could be different. The aim of the study was to determine the values of facial harmony for the Chilean population, using the cephalometric analysis of soft tissues presented by Arnett, and compare them with the values previously established for the Caucasian population. In this study 200 photographs were analyzed, and the profiles were classified in balanced and unbalanced according to the criteria of a group of specialists. Subsequently, teleradiographs corresponding to the classified profiles were analyzed, with the cephalometric analysis of soft tissues. The values of the different variables were analyzed separately by sex, skeletal class and facial biotype, and the differences between the variables presented by Arnett et al., and those obtained in the present study. For this purpose, statistical significance tests such as the t test and other nonparametric tests were used. There were only significant differences in two variables: inferior lip variables in both sexes, and a greater prominence of the cheekbone in Chilean women, therefore we consider that the values of harmony of Arnett, can also be applied as an aesthetic parameter for the Chilean population.

KEY WORDS: cephalometry, esthetic surgery, maxillofacial surgery.

How to cite this article

PÉREZ, G. M.; CARREÑO, L. S.; ARAYA-DÍAZ, P.; PARADA, I. J. G.; PALOMINO, M. H.; MARTÍNEZ, R. V. & CAMPOS P. M. Determination of harmony values of the facial profile in the Chilean population. Int. J. Odontostomat., 15(1):137-144, 2021.