A multicenter interracial study of facial appearance. Part 1: A comparison of extraoral parameters.

Purpose: This study was undertaken to compare the facial appearance of patients from six racial groups (African American, Caucasian, Chinese, Hispanic, Japanese, and Korean) for interracial and/or gender differences and to determine if "norms" existed.

Materials And Methods: A total of 253 subjects (144 men and 109 women) ranging in age from 18 to 41 years (mean age 26.5 years) were evaluated using a standardized protocol. The data were collected and analyzed to establish reference ranges for seven frontal and six profile extraoral parameters. Mean scores were compared by race and gender using a one-way analysis of variance, followed by the Tukey-Kramer test for honestly significant difference when statistically significant differences were found (P < .05).

Results: There were no significant differences for any of the seven frontal or six profile extraoral parameters between men and women. No significant differences were found between racial groups for five of the seven frontal and one of the six profile extraoral parameters.

Conclusion: Most of the frontal facial parameters and one profile extraoral parameter might be considered norms for male and female patients of different ethnic origins. Additional research with larger patient populations would be needed to confirm or refute these trends.