The growth and development of the soft tissues of the human face

The complexity of shape, soft nature of the facial tissues and the sensitivity of the eyes make their accurate direct measurement difficult. Short base stereophotogrammetry is three dimensional and non-invasive. This technique was used to measure the faces of 52 like-sexed twins between the ages of 9 and 16 years in a mixed longitudinal study. Certain vertical and horizontal parameters defining the eyes, the nose, the mouth and overall facial shape were remeasured and plotted for this study. Relative to the intercanthal line, the alae of nose and angles of mouth are displaced by growth, on or very near to straight lines which were not parallel, indicating a small change of proportion between nose and mouth. Their steepness is a measure of the dominance of vertical over lateral growth. Knowledge of normal growth changes will help to predict soft tissue changes produced by orthodontic or surgical treatment in the faces of children.