Morphological Characteristics of Skull-face Among 5-year-old Children

Objectives: The objective of this study was to determine morphological characteristics of the skull-face among 5-year-old Vietnamese children.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was implemented in 78 five-year-old children (44 girls and 34 boys) in Vietnam. Their Posterior – Anterior (PA) cephalograms were collected to do the tracing. Seventeen landmarks were used to assess facial symmetry in horizontal (Eu – Eu, Or – Or, Co – Co, Ma – Ma, NC – NC and Ag – Ag) and in vertical (Cg – Me, Cg – ANS, ANS – Me, ANS – A1, and B1 – Me). In addition, the parameters of proportions between facial stages and mandibular bone dimensions (Cg-ANS/Cg-Me, ANS-Me/Cg-Me, ANS-A1/ANS-Me, ANS-A1/Cg-Me, B1-Me/ANS-Me, B1-Me/Cg-Me, ANS-A1/B1-Me) were used. Independent Sample T test was applied.
Results: There were statistically significant differences in means of the measurement parameters between boys and girls (p<0.05). Means of Co –Co, Eu–Eu, Ma–Ma, Cg–Me, ANS/Me/Cg-Me and Cg – ANS in boys were large than in girls (p<0.05). Most of the children displayed facial asymmetry in the horizontal plane with the left side being significantly large than the right side (p<0.05). The study also found significant differences in the parameters mentioned above between the right side and left side. Comparing the left side to the right side, the condyle point was lower and the mandibular ramus was longer (p<0.05) in the vertical plane.
Conclusions: There were facial asymmetries in the horizontal planes as well as the vertical planes among 5-year-old children in Vietnam.