Soft Tissue Cephalometric Norms in Emirati Population: A Cross-Sectional Study

The current study is the first to present the cephalometric norms in Emirati adults and aimed to investigate the differences in the angular and linear soft tissue cephalometric measures between male and female Emirati adults.

A group of 176 individuals (91 males and 85 females) with normal occlusion, proportional facial profiles were chosen, and lateral cephalograms were obtained. Standard values of 16 soft-tissue measurements were determined. Descriptive statistics were first carried out for each parameter. The Student's t-test was then performed to determine significant differences between male and female measurement means. Significant differences were determined at the 95% probability level.

Soft tissue measurements showed that men had a greater soft tissue profile and H-angle than women. A significant difference between the genders was observed for all linear soft tissue measurements except for the lower lip to E-plane, N'-Sn' and Sn'-Stomion/Sn-Me ratio measurements. The lengths and thicknesses of the upper and lower lips independently, protrusion of both upper and lower lips, Sn'-Me' (mm) and N'-Sn'/Sn'-Me' (%) were found to be significantly different (p < 0.001) and so were the upper lip to E-plane (mm) and the soft tissue thickness of the chin measurements (p < 0.05). Except for upper and lower lip protrusion dimensions and the N'-Sn'/Sn'-Me' (%), men presented with greater linear measurements.

The differences in soft-tissue cephalometric norms between men and women were established, suggesting that the orthodontist must individualize therapy using local norms as the reference.