Rizwan Shah, Amjad Mahmood, Abdul Jabbar.
Correlation Between Clinical And Photographic Assessment OF Facial Profile.
Pak Oral Dental J Jan ;37(1):74-8.

Profile photograph has become a corner stone in the diagnosis and treatment planning of an orthodontic case. It is important that the photographs reflect soft tissue discrepancy as accurately as assessed during the clinical evaluation of the patient as fundamental decisions such as extraction, growth modification, camouflage etc. are dependent on the validity and accuracy of conclusions drawn from the profile photograph. The aim of this study was to determine the correlation between the clinical and photographic assessment of the facial profile by the use of visual analogue scale (VAS). Profiles of 100 orthodontic patients (35 males and 65 females) were examined clinically and on the photographs. The extent of convexity/concavity of the profile angle and acuteness/obtuseness of the nasolabial angle were assessed with the help of VAS scoring. The correlation coefficient of the mean VAS score of clinical and photographic assessment was calculated as r = 0.847 for the profile angle and a correlation coefficient value of r = 0.892 for the nasolabial angle, which was positively correlated and statistically significant. This indicates a strong correlation between the two assessment methods used. This study concluded that since a strong correlation exists between the clinical and photographic assessment of soft tissue variables, it can be considered to finalize the treatment plan of a patient on the basis of photographs and the presence of the patient during case discussion can be omitted. In addition, this can further build a strong foundation for the orthodontists to justify their patient’s treatment plan and validate their decisions confidently just on the basis of photographic evaluation.

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