Facial asymmetry assessment in skeletal Class III patients with spatially-dense geometric morphometrics

Quantification and visualization of the location and magnitude of facial asymmetry is important for diagnosis and treatment planning. The objective of this study was to analyze the asymmetric features of the face for skeletal Class III patients using spatially-dense geometric morphometrics.

Three-dimensional facial images were obtained for 86 skeletal Class III patients. About 7160 uniformly sampled quasi-landmarks were automatically identified on each face using template mapping technique. The pointwise surface-to-surface distance between original and mirror face was measured and visualized for the whole face after robust Procrustes superimposition. The degree of overall asymmetry in an individual was scored using a root-mean-squared-error. Automatic partitioning of the face was obtained, and the severity of the asymmetry compared among seven facial regions.

Facial asymmetry was mainly located on, but not limited to, the lower two-thirds of the face in skeletal Class III patients. The lower cheek and nose asymmetry were detected to have more extensive and of a greater magnitude of asymmetry than other facial anatomical regions but with various individual variations. The overall facial asymmetry index and the regional facial asymmetry indices were higher in males and patients with chin deviation.

Soft tissue asymmetry is predominately presented in the lower-third of the face in skeletal Class III patients and with various variations on other facial anatomical regions. Morphometric techniques and computer intensive analysis have allowed sophisticated quantification and visualization of the pointwise asymmetry on the full face.