Craniofacial structure of Anatolian Turkish adults with normal occlusions and well-balanced faces

Abstract

This study aimed to develop cephalometric standards for Anatolian Turkish men and women. Fifty young men (mean age [± standard deviation], 22.61 ± 1.22) and 55 young women (mean age, 22.14 ± 1.44 years) were studied. All subjects were born to Turkish parents and grandparents and were 19 to 25 years old. All had Class I occlusions with minor or no crowding, normal growth and development, well-aligned maxillary and mandibular dental arches, all teeth present except third molars, good facial symmetry determined clinically and radiographically, no significant medical history, no history of trauma, no previous orthodontic or prosthodontic treatment, and no maxillofacial or plastic surgery. Twenty-five measurements (14 linear and 11 angular) were analyzed on each radiograph. Arithmetic mean and standard deviation were calculated for each measurement. For statistical evaluation, independent-samples t tests were performed. Our established values were compared with the norms of other investigators who studied facial esthetics. Significant racial differences were found in skeletal measurements (anterior nasal spine [ANS] to menton), dental measurements (maxillary incisor to sella-nasion plane, mandibular incisor to nasion-Point B line, and mandibular incisor to mandibular plane), and soft tissue measurements (H angle, upper lip to E plane, and upper lip to Steiner S line). Significant sex differences were found in the measurements condylion to A point, condylion to gnathion, ANS to menton, and nasion to ANS. It is appropriate to put these cephalometric norms into daily orthodontic practice when an Anatolian Turkish population is being treated.