An important morphological feature of the face: upper lip length.

Abstract

The oral cavity, including the lips, is considered one of the most important features of the face, taken into consideration when people inter-relate. Upper lip, in particular, can have a great influence on the aspect of a smile, which is why its proportional length and thickness can improve a lot a persons' smile. The aim of this study was to determine the average length of the upper lip in the Caucasian population, considering age and gender. The average upper lip length determined on the lateral skull radiography was 20.25±2.555 mm. The average length of the upper lip was 19.79±1.641 mm in the age category under 12 years and 20.32±2.664 mm in the age category over 12 years. The average length of the upper lip was 19.95±2.4 mm in women and 21.18±2.79 mm in men. We can conclude that women have lower values, while men have higher values of the upper lip length, and that the younger the patient is, the shorter the length of the upper lip is. Moreover, the Caucasian population proved to have a shorter upper lip compared to the Asian or Negroid population.