Anthropometrical measurements of the height of the upper lip and length of the philtrum

Abstract

BACKGROUND: indirect anthropometrical measurements of the height of the upper lip and length of the philtrum. AIM: to describe the measurements of the height of the upper lip and length of the philtrum, extracted from video x-rays, in children with mixed dentition, relating these measurements to facial typology--medium and long-, to occlusion--Angle's class I and II--and to the rest position of the lips--with and without lip seal. METHOD: verification of 123 x-rays, in lateral norm, of children with ages between 7:7 and 11:10 years, 56 male and 67 female, extracted from archives of orthodontical documentation prior to treatment. RESULTS: the T-Student test, with a significance level of 5%, was used for the statistical analyses and the obtained results were: for the height of the upper lip no statistical difference was found considering the variables of face typology, occlusion and gender; there was no statistical difference for the measurements of the philtrum considering the variables of face typology and occlusion, but a statistically significant difference was found for the variable gender: a statistically significant difference was found for the height of the upper lip and length of the philtrum considering the variable rest position of the lips--with and without lip seal--being this a determinant factor for the measurements. This finding suggests that a direction of structural modifications may exist. CONCLUSION: the mean value for the height of the upper lip was established at 21mm; the mean value for the length of the philtrum was established at 12mm. It is important to consider the rest posture of the lips, during assessment and therapy, when taking the measurements of the height of the upper lip and length of the philtrum.