Cephalometric profile norms for southeastern African-Brazilian adults according to the Legan-Burstone analysis: a pilot study

Abstract

The aim of this pilot study was to determine cephalometric profile norms for a sample of African-Brazilian young adults with excellent occlusion and compare them to Caucasian standards. Methods: Lateral cephalograms of 43 individuals of both genders (28 male and 15 female), with average age of 22.40 ± 3.40 years, were used to evaluate 13 variables proposed by the Legan-Burstone analysis. Student´s independent t-test was used to compare resulting values with those set by European-American standards. Results: Significant differences were found (p < 0.001) between African-Brazilians and Caucasians as for: maxillary and mandibular prognathism, vertical height ratio, lower face-throat angle, lower vertical height-depth ratio, nasolabial angle, upper and lower lip protrusion, mentolabial sulcus and vertical lip-chin ratio. Facial convexity angle, maxillary incisor exposure and interlabial gap did not present statistical differences when ethnic groups were compared. Males displayed increased lower face-throat angles and vertical lip-chin ratios (p <0.05) while females presented increased maxillary incisor exposures (p <0.05). Conclusion: Caucasian cephalometric norms do not apply to African-Brazilian young adults. Therefore, morphological differences in the faces of such individuals should be taken into account during diagnosis and orthodontic treatment planning stages.