Abstract

A person’s ability to recognize a beautiful face is innate, but translating this into defined treatment goals is problematic. Aim: To determine if faces considered esthetic and pleasing in young North Indian population (both males and females) exhibit the similar cephalometric measurements as used for ideal treatment and successful results. Materials and method: A panel of 5 judges evaluated a set containing one frontal, one frontal during smiling, and one profile photograph of 160 students (80 females and 80 males) on a 5-point attractiveness scale. For each photographic set, the mean and final scores were calculated. Once the sample was established, 60 subjects (30 females and 30 males) with the highest final facial aesthetic score were selected and cephalometric analysis was performed. All statistical analyses were performed on Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 19.0 Gender differences were compared by independent Student’s t test. Results: Both males and females with Class I skeletal jaw bases were found to be attractive. Females with short faces; mild facial convexity and lower lip closer to the esthetic line were found to be attractive. Males with prominent chin; straight profile; prominent nose, increased upper lip thickness, upper lip length and lower lip length were found to be attractive. Conclusion: The faces considered attractive in this study fulfilled most of the cephalometric norms commonly used for diagnosis and treatment planning except for few inconsistencies which may be attributed to gender and demographic origin.