A 3-Dimensional evaluation of facial averages among African American and Welsh children

Objectives: The aim of this study was to compare facial morphology of African American children to Welsh children using three-dimensional (3D) surface imaging.
Methods: Three dimensional facial images were captured using 3DMD face system, a stereophotogrammetric camera capture system. The 3DMD imaging system captured 171 subjects from 2 population groups (African American[n=107] and Welsh[n=64]), which were categorized into male and female groups for evaluation. All subjects in the group were between 10 and 13 years old and lacked any visible facial anomalies. Images were aligned and combined using RF6 Plus Pack 2 software to produce a male and female facial average for each populations. The averages were superimposed and the differences were assessed.
Results: Distinct facial differences were noted between the two populations: periocular region, chin, and nose. The average distance between African American and Welsh male children was 1.10±1.10 mm. In comparison to African American male children with more protrusive lip, more prominent periocular region, and wider alar base, Welsh male children had more prominent dorsal subunit, nasal tip, and chin. The average distance between African American and Welsh female children was 0.96±1.03 mm. While African American female children had more protrusive lip, more prominent periocular region, and wider alar base, Welsh female children had more prominent dorsal subunit, nasal tip, chin, and center forehead.
Conclusions: After creating average faces from 3D photographs, the facial morphological differences between populations and genres were compared. Both African American male and female children had broader face with prominent malar region compared to the Welsh male and female children who had more prominent nose and chin.