AIM: To evaluate the vertical facial proportions of Afro Brazilian and White Brazilian female children aged 8 to 10 years old, and to evaluate the differences between the racial groups. METHODS: The authors evaluated 70 cephalometric radiographs, in lateral norm, equally divided into two groups, 22 at 8 years, 18 at 9 years, and 30 at 10 years old. All the patients showed harmonious facial esthetics, normal occlusion and none of them were subjected to previous orthodontic treatment. The following proportions were evaluated: LAFH/TAFH (ANS-Me/N-Me), TPFH/TAFH (S-Go/N-Me), LPFH/PTFH (Ar-Go/S-Go), LPFH/LAFH (Ar-Go/ANS-Me). Data was analyzed by descriptive statistics and Student's t-test in order to compare the differences between the racial groups, ANOVA for comparison between the ages and Pearson's correlation coefficient to examine the level of association between the variables. Statistical analysis was performed at the 0.05 level of significance. RESULTS: The findings showed no statistically significant differences between the groups and between the ages into the groups for all variables. CONCLUSION: There were no significant differences in facial proportions between Afro Brazilian and White Brazilian female children. The facial proportions remained constant from 8 to 10 years, regardless the racial group.
Cephalometrics; Facial proportions; Afro Brazilian children; White Brazilian children
