The 3-Dimensional Construction of the Average 11-Year-Old Child Face: A Clinical Evaluation and Application

Kau, Chung How; Zhurov, Alexei; Richmond, Stephen; Bibb, Richard; Sugar, Adrian; Knox, Jeremy; Hartles, Frank

doi:10.1016/j.joms.2006.03.013

« Previous Next »Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery
Volume 64, Issue 7 , Pages 1086-1092, July 2006

The 3-Dimensional Construction of the Average 11-Year-Old Child Face: A Clinical Evaluation and Application

Chung How Kau, MScD, FAMS
- Clinical Lecturer and Orthodontist, Dental Health and Biological Sciences, University of Wales, College of Medicine, Cardiff, Wales, UK
- Address correspondence and reprint requests to Dr Kau: Department of Dental Health and Biological Sciences, University of Wales, College of Medicine, Heath Park, Cardiff CF14 4XY, Wales, UK
Alexei Zhurov, PhD
- Senior Research Fellow, Dental Health and Biological Sciences, University of Wales, College of Medicine, Cardiff, Wales, UK
Stephen Richmond, PhD
- Professor and Head of Department, Dental Health and Biological Sciences, University of Wales, College of Medicine, Cardiff, Wales, UK
Richard Bibb, PhD
- Director of Research and Graduate Studies, Head of Medical Applications Department-Product Development Research, University of Wales, Institute Cardiff, Cardiff, Wales, UK
Adrian Sugar, PhD
- Consultant, Oral and Maxillofacial Unit, The Welsh Centre for Burns, Plastic Surgery and Maxillofacial Surgery, Morriston Hospital, Swansea, Wales, UK
Jeremy Knox, PhD
- Consultant, Dental Health and Biological Sciences, University of Wales, College of Medicine, Cardiff, Wales, UK
Frank Hartles, MSc
- Head of Unit, Dental Health and Biological Sciences, University of Wales, College of Medicine, Cardiff, Wales, UK

Purpose

This article describes construction of the average face and its application in the clinical environment.

Subjects and Methods

A total of 72 children, mean age 11.8 years, were selected for the study. Laser-scanned images of the subjects were obtained under a reproducible and controlled environment with 2 Minolta Vivid 900 (Minolta, Osaka, Japan) optical laser-scanning devices assembled as a stereo pair. A set of left and right scanned images was taken for each subject and each scan took an average of 2.5 seconds. These scanned images were processed and merged to form a composite 3-dimensional soft tissue reproduction of the subjects using commercially-available reverse modeling software. The differences in facial morphology were measured using shell deviation color maps. The average face was used to compare differences between male and female groups and 3 subjects with craniofacial anomalies.

Results

The difference between the average male and female face was 0.460 ± 0.353 mm. The areas of greatest deviation were at the zygomatic area and lower jaw line, with the males being more prominent. The results of the surface deviation between the subjects with craniofacial anomalies were significant.

Conclusions

The construction of the average face provides an interesting perspective into measuring changes in groups of patients and also acts as a useful template for the comparison of craniofacial anomalies.