Differences in Angular Photogrammetric Soft-Tissue Facial Characteristics among Parents and Their Offspring

Abstract

Background and objectives: The objective of this study was to determine if the angular photogrammetric analysis of soft-tissue characteristics can determine similarities between parents and their offspring in the Serbian population. Materials and Methods: A total of 15 families (52 participants) met the participation criteria of this study and their facial profile images were analyzed using the ImageJ software. Subjects were divided into groups of mothers and fathers and four groups of children (divided according to their age and gender). In total, twelve angular measurements were made on the standardized digital images of the profiles of the participants and the obtained data were compared using one-way ANOVA. Results: The obtained results showed that there were statistically significant differences in the values of the nasal and cervicomental angles, as well as the angle of the total facial convexity, between the group of fathers, on one side, and groups of male/female children, on the other. Conclusions: This work represents the first photogrammetric analysis of facial soft-tissue characteristics of children and adults in the Serbian population. The data suggest that there are much more similarities between the facial soft-tissue angles of fathers and their male offspring. Furthermore, mothers tend to have statistically insignificant differences in angle sizes, compared to both male and female offspring.