Facial asymmetry and chewing sides in twins

Abstract

Objective: To resolve how the preferred chewing side (PCS) affects facial asymmetry in twins, whether there are differences between monozygotic (MZ) and dizygotic (DZ) twins, and whether the twins with PCS have more asymmetric faces compared to symmetrically chewing twins. Material and methods: The study included 106 Lithuanian twin pairs of the same sex, 59 MZ and 47 DZ pairs. The data were analysed from facial 3D images and manually added landmarks. 3D images were analysed by Rapidform2006 software and statistical analyses were done by using the R software environment version 4.1.0. Results: The contralateral effect of PCS and larger chin side was dominant among right and non-right side chewing twins. Being female increased the whole face symmetry. Conclusion: The volume of the chin becomes larger on the side opposite to the twins’ habitual chewing side. As the results are quite similar in both twin types, functional factors are more prominent than heredity.