Vertical growth of the anterior face: a new approach.

The mechanism of anterior vertical facial growth was studied in normal subjects between 7 and 22 years of age. This subsample (n = 60) of participants in the Nijmegen Growth Study was representative of normal variation with respect to vertical facial proportions. A negative correlation was found between the average growth rate of the upper and lower anterior facial height in boys. Boys with a relatively large facial height exhibited a higher than average growth rate of the lower anterior facial height compared with the upper facial height. In girls a similar trend was present. The individual average growth rate of the anterior upper and lower facial height maintains or accentuates the early established facial form.