Analysis of facial pattern among 12–16-year-old students in Lagos, Nigeria

Abstract

Background: Facial patterns or biotypes have been known to influence the treatment plan of orthodontic patients and analyze the facial patterns described by Ricketts. Determining the facial type is extremely important for orthodontic diagnosis and planning since the muscular and skeletal configuration of each facial type responds differently to the orthodontic treatment. Materials and Methods: A sample of 100 individuals was recruited by multistage sampling from three schools in Ikeja local government, Lagos State. Those aged between 12 and 16 years who met the inclusion criteria were enrolled in the study after obtaining informed consent and assent from the parents and participants. Lateral cephalometric radiographs were taken for all participants, and the final sample after analysis of the radiographs was 84. The error of the cephalometric method was assessed using the intraclass correlation coefficient. Facial axis angle (Ptm-Gn/Ba-N) was used to classify the facial pattern into brachyfacial ( 93°) Results: Out of the 84 participants, 60 (71.4%) had mesofacial facial pattern which consisted of 27 (32.1%) males and 33 (39.3%) females. 10 (11.9%) had brachyfacial pattern out of which 9 (10.7%) were male and 1 (1.2%) was a female. This difference between the males and females in the brachyfacial pattern was statistically significant with a P value of 0.014 (P ≤ 0.05). 14 (16.67%) participants had dolichofacial pattern with 5 (6.0%) males and 9 (10.7%) females. Conclusion: The mesofacial pattern had the highest frequency among the facial pattern types studied in this Nigerian population and was found to be more predominant among females. The brachyfacial pattern was seen more frequently in males while the dolichofacial pattern was more prevalent among females. The facial pattern assessment should guide the orthodontist in the use of appropriate mechanics to achieve an overall balanced occlusion and facial profile following orthodontic treatment.