Three-dimensional facial growth studied by optical surface scanning

Abstract

The objective of the investigation was to study the three-dimensional growth of the face, and to examine the hypothesis that there are three-dimensional differences between the faces of boys and girls. The subjects comprised 132 British Caucasians aged 5-10 years measured by optical surface scanning in this cross-sectional study. Average scans for each age and sex subgroup were superimposed to assess the differences with age and sex. Males were generally larger than females. The greatest difference was between the facial heights and the least in the mid-facial dimensions. The face height of both sexes increased by an average of 3-4 mm annually. Mid-face prominence and width altered little. Mandibular width increased by 1-3 mm a year, rising to 3-5 mm in some years at the inferior areas of the mandibular region. Mandibular prominence also increased. Nose height and prominence and alar base width increased by 2 mm per year on average. Dorsum width changed little. Boys were generally larger than girls. Growth in facial height was greatest. Mid-face prominence and width changed little with age, whilst the prominence and width of the lower face increased more. Nasal prominence and alar base width increased at most ages. Dimensions changed more than reported by cephalometric studies, possibly as this study included the soft tissues. Refereed Scientific Paper

Facial Morphology of Slovenian and Welsh White Populations Using 3-Dimensional Imaging

“…It has been used to distinguish people with Noonan's syndrome, 4 to compare different groups of orthodontically treated patients (ie, postextraction groups vs nonextraction groups), 17 and to detect growth changes among children. 18 In this study, average facial templates were used to discover differences in the facial morphology of white Slovenian and Welsh populations.…”

2D:4D and Sexually Dimorphic Facial Characteristics

“…Some of these differences are apparent from an early age. Male nose width, for example, is significantly greater from about age eight (Nute, Orth, Moss, & Orth, 2000). Growth spurts at puberty further increase sex differences, particularly at the mandible (Snodell, Nanda, & Currier, 1993).…”

Morphological and morphometric changes in the faces of female-to-male (FtM) transsexual people

“…Morphological profiles within and between populations and sexes (Kau et al, 2010), visualising soft tissue changes following orthognathic surgery (Miller, Morris and Berry, 2007), syndrome diagnosis (Shaweesh, Clement, Thomas and Bankier, 2006), facial growth (Nute & Moss, 2000) and facial aging (Atsuchi, Tsuji, Usumoto, Yoshino and Ikeda, 2013) have been studied.…”