Assessment of Facial Soft Tissue Thickness in Individuals having Skeletal Class II Malocclusion

Aim: To measure and compare the facial soft tissue thicknesses (FSTT) between skeletal class I and class II patients. Materials and methods:The sample consisted of lateral cephalograms of 120 patients (60 females and 60 males) of 18-30 years.These were subdivided into groups I, II, and III (n = 40 each) consisting of individuals with skeletal class I, mandibular retrognathism-induced skeletal class II, and maxillary prognathism-induced skeletal class II, respectively.Selected digital cephalograms were imported into the Nemoceph software (Nemotec, Spain) and calibrated.The thickness of the facial soft tissue was assessed and compared at 10 anthropological landmarks.Result: Significant differences between the study groups were noted with respect to the mean Gls-G, Sn-A, and St-U1 values.In addition, sexual dimorphism was also noted.Conclusion: Given the significant variation in the FSTT among the study groups, it is vital that the clinician in addition to accounting for the skeletal malocclusion also considers the soft tissue dimensions while formulating the treatment protocol.Clinical significance: The differences among different skeletal malocclusions may be taken into account in patients undergoing orthodontics or corrective jaw surgery, both during diagnosis and treatment planning.