[The assessment of the facial profile in relation to head posture]

On the basis of Schwarz's [21] facial typology, soft tissue facial profile was evaluated in relation to 3 head positions: natural head position, head position according to the Frankfurter Horizontal, and head position according to a subjective personal appraisal of an aesthetically pleasing profile, i.e. aesthetic head position. Forty children (20 girls and 20 boys) and 40 adults (20 women and 20 men) with varying occlusal relationships constituted the study group. Facial photos oriented according to the above 3 head positions were evaluated. The results revealed that head posture had a decisive impact on the outcome of the facial profile evaluation. Significant differences existed between natural head position on the one hand and Frankfurter Horizontal and aesthetic head position on the other. Due to the relatively large methodological error in the registration of natural head position, and the resulting effect of this error on profile evaluation, natural head position can lead to misleading results. The advantage of Frankfurter Horizontal as opposed to aesthetic head position is the result of a subjective appraisal. Thus, when using Schwarz's method in evaluating facial profile, Frankfurter Horizontal still appears to be quite appropriate.