Advisory Committee Chair
Chung H Kau
Advisory Committee Members
Nada Souccar
Rama Chavali
Amjad Javed
Document Type
Thesis
Date of Award
2016
Degree Name by School
Master of Science in Dentistry (MScD) School of Dentistry
Abstract
The purpose of this cross sectional retrospective study was to use three dimensional surface imaging to determine gender dimorphism and facial morphological changes from adolescence to adulthood in African American and Caucasian populations. Materials and Methods: Three-dimensional images were captured using a laser scanner (Minolta Vivid VI900) and a stereophotogrammatic camera system (3dMDfaceTM). The total sample size included 371 subjects, including the following: 107 African-American adolescents 10–13 years of age, 100 African-American adults 19–30 years of age, 64 Caucasian adolescents 10–13 years of age, and 100 Caucasian adults 18–30 years of age. All subjects had normal body mass index, no gross craniofacial anomalies, and no history of orthodontic treatment. Images were combined using Rapidform 2006 Plus Pack 2 software (INUS Technology, Seoul, Korea) to produce a male and female facial average for each population. The averages for each population were superimposed using the best fit algorithm and displayed as color histograms to assess differences. Comparisons were conducted within the following categories: 1. Gender comparison within each race 2. Adult and adolescent comparison within each race 3. Adult and adolescent comparison between the races. Results: Adolescent gender comparisons within each race showed high percentages of similarity. However, adult females in both races showed more prominent periorbital, malar, and nasolabial regions and less prominent lower forehead, nose, and lower face compared to adult males of the same race. African American adult females showed increases in length and width of the face, increased nasal tip projection, and decreased periorbital regions compared to African American adolescent females. Welsh adult females had an increase in nose and chin projection compared to Welsh adolescent females. Adult males of both races had increases in nose and chin projection, increases in length and width of the face, and decreased periorbital, malar, and nasolabial regions compared to adolescent males of the same race. African American adolescents had a wider alar base, more protrusive lips, and periorbital regions, and less prominent nose and chin compared to the Welsh adolescents. African American adults also had a wider alar base, more protrusive lips and periorbital regions, a broader face, and more retrusive chin, nose, nasolabial region, and lower forehead compared to Welsh adults. Conclusions: Few differences were noted between genders within the same racial groups during adolescence. However, changes became more distinct in adulthood. From adolescence to adulthood, facial morphologies were similarly matched within the gender for females, but there were significant changes for males. Lastly, facial morphology patterns tend to be established early in life.
Recommended Citation
Davis, Matthew, "Three-Dimensional Facial Morphological Changes From Adolescence to Adulthood in Caucasian and African American Populations" (2016). All ETDs from UAB. 1487.
https://digitalcommons.library.uab.edu/etd-collection/1487
