Comparisons of the five analytic reference lines of the horizontal lip position: their consistency and sensitivity.

One-hundred ten lateral facial profiles were judged to be attractive and were selected from 1000 Taiwanese pupils by a panel of four men and three women from different educational backgrounds. The 110 in the attractive group were analyzed by using five analytic reference lines: Ricketts E line, Holdaway's H line, Steiner's S1 line, Burstone's B line, and Sushner's S2 line. Comparisons of the "consistency" (the smaller coefficient of variation the better the consistency) and the "sensitivity" (the power to differentiate the attractive lateral facial profiles from the unattractive ones) of the five analytic lines were performed. The B line was found to be best in terms of both consistency and sensitivity. From the point of view of convenience, the E line is of great value because its anterior location makes it convenient for the clinician to use. However, the B line appears best from the perspective of the value of reference. This study found that those analytic reference lines that do not transverse an anatomic landmark of the nose most likely have poor consistency and sensitivity. This finding is consistent with the idea that the nose should be taken into consideration when a line is to be used as a reference for beauty on the lateral facial profile.