Influence of anteroposterior mandibular positions on facial attractiveness in Japanese adults.

Introduction: Our aims in this study were to determine the anteroposterior facial relationship that is regarded as most attractive by Japanese laypersons in a questionnaire survey and to evaluate which analysis of the soft-tissue profile is most suitable for Japanese people.

Methods: We showed 262 Japanese laypersons (121 male, 141 female) 9 morphed profile images with Point B and menton anteriorly or distally moved by software and asked them to number them sequentially according to their attractiveness. To examine which analysis best reflects facial attractiveness as judged by laypersons, we made 5 types of analyses of the facial profile with 11 variables in the 9 images.

Results: The normal face was judged favorably; however, an attractive profile might be different for each subject. The 3 highest ranking profiles (normal face and moderate mandibular retrusions) were often favorites, and 2 profiles (severe mandibular protrusions) were liked the least for most subjects. However, the other images showed a wide range of distribution. Mandibular retrusion was generally more favored than mandibular protrusion and bimaxillary protrusion (severe chin retrusion) had a high attractiveness ranking and was well accepted in the Japanese population.

Conclusions: To evaluate the profiles of Japanese subjects, it is important to evaluate not only the esthetic line defined by the nose and chin, but also the balance of the upper and lower lips defined by the posterior reference line--ie, Burstone's Sn-Pog' line.