Morphological Assessment of Face and Nose Shapes among the Ukwuanis of Delta State, Nigeria

Abstract

The individuality of the face also results primarily from anatomical variations in the shape and relative prominence of the features of the underlying facial bone. The purpose of this study was to determine the facial and nasal indices to classify the morphological face and nose shapes in children ages 12-15 years in Ukwuani ethnic group in Delta State, South-South of Nigeria. This may be useful in forensic medicine, oral/maxillofacial and plastic surgery, orthodontics and paediatrics. The study adopted the descriptive cross-sectional survey method and the multi- stage and purposive sampling techniques. The study population comprised 240 children (120 males and 120 females), between the ages of 12 and 15 years and who were apparently healthy and whose parents belong to the Ukwuani ethnic group. The face length, face width, nasal height and nasal width were measured and the prosopic and nasal indices determined. Descriptive statistics and unpaired t-test were used for the data analysis. Results showed the predominant face shape was hypereuryprosopic and the predominant nose shape was platyrrhine.