Frontal Cephalometric Analysis of Facial Asymmetry

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the skeletal facial asymmetry in patients with facial deformity who needed surgical orthodontic treatment to correct their severe facial asymmetry.Thirty adult patients with severe facial asymmetry who underwent surgical orthodontic treatment (Asymmetry group) and 30 adult patients with facial symmetry who underwent only orthodontic treatment (Control group) formed the basis of this study.The skeletal facial asymmetry of the Asymmetry group was examined quantitatively both in the horizontal and the vertical dimensions, and compared with the dimensions of the Control group statistically.The following results were obtained.1. Horizontally, the Asymmetry group demonstrated significant facial asymmetry both in the mid face and the lower face, and the degree of this deformity increased gradually towards the lower face. Similarly, vertically, the Asymmetry group demonstrated facial asymmetry both in the mid face and the lower face, but the vertical degree of deformity was smaller than that horizontally.2. Horizontally, the Asymmetry group demonstrated significant correlation among all facial components, while vertically, the Asymmetry group only demonstrated a significant correlation among the adjacent facial parts.3. The classification of the Asymmetry group based on severely deformed facial parts revealed that 2/3 of the asymmetry cases had severe facial deformity not only in the mandible, but also in the mid face.