Facial volume changes during normal human growth and development

BACKGROUND: To describe normal soft tissue growth and development of the human face through volume changes and to assess the presence of sexual dimorphism. METHODS: Facial landmark identifications (2,023) were performed on 1,347 healthy Caucasian children and adolescents, ages 6-18 yr, and young adults, ages 19-32 yr. Three-dimensional coordinates of 22 facial landmarks were collected by automated infrared photogrammetry. Facial volumes and selected linear distances and ratios were calculated and averaged for age and sex. RESULTS: Whereas in females in the 14-15 age group, the face had almost completed its growth relative to the adult group, in males a large increase was still to occur, in general agreement with previous reports on craniofacial growth, which suggested a strong tendency in males for growth to continue for several years beyond that seen in females. The male vs. female comparison reflected the different growth patterns. On average, within each age group volumes were significantly larger in males than in females, with some exceptions in the 11-12 age group, where female growth velocity showed a spurt. Sexual dimorphism in facial volume did not appear in different parts of the face to the same extent: a large part of male facial volume preponderance occurred in the lower third of the face. CONCLUSIONS: From 6 yr of age to adulthood, facial soft tissues increased their volumes by >40%, with different growth patterns in boys and girls