Panel assessments of the facial frontal view as related to mandibular growth direction

This paper describes study No. 6 in a series dealing with mandibular growth direction (Lundström and Woodside, 1980). Study No. 5. (Lundström, Woodside and Popovich 1987) investigated facial harmony and disharmony of the facial profile. The present paper describes a study of the frontal views of the same children as paper No. 5. A mixed panel of 17 individuals (four categories of three, four and six people in each) made an aesthetic evaluation of the frontal facial view of 64 subjects (32 of each sex) from the Burlington serial experimental group. The sample consisted of equal numbers of individuals who displayed vertical, average or horizontal mandibular growth between the ages 6-20 years. We calculated correlations between the four assessor groups and found these to be acceptable. On average the panel found no change in frontal appearance between 12 and 18 years because of the balance between individuals improving and deteriorating. Our earlier work showed systematic differences in profile view between those with vertical growth on the one hand and average o horizontal on the other. The vertical cases were more disharmonious than the other categories. Corresponding findings were made also in the frontal view. Mean overall evaluations by all assessors showed a positive correlation between profile and front view assessments.