Soft Tissue Cephalometric Norms for Adult Population of North India : A Radiographic Study

Human face is a complex mosaic of lines, angles, planes, shapes, textures and colours. The interplay between these elements can create an infinite variety of facial forms. Diagnosis and treatment planning in orthodontics by conventional osseous cephalometric norms have not been reliable. These cephalometric analyses concentrated mainly on the measurements of hard tissue structures which were not proportionate to the soft tissues of the face. Treatment based on cephalometric hard tissue norms in many instances, may, in fact, create undesirable facial changes. The advantage of soft tissue cephalometrics is that it provides the ability to make objective measurements of important structures and their relationships. Soft tissue cephalometrics is a method of quantifying facial disharmony and identifying its underlying causes.