Lips measurement
Holdaway H-Line
The harmony line is tangent to the upper lip and the chin. Ideally the lower lip just touches it. Slight retrusion is tolerated better than protrusion. The H-angle (between the H-line and the N–Pog facial line) is shown for reference.
At a glance
- Ideal
- −1.0 to 1.0 mm
- Unit
- millimetres
- Weight in the overall score
- 3
- Area
- Lips
How it is measured
Distance of Li from the Ls–Pog line (positive = in front)
- Ls Labrale superius (upper lip) — The most forward point of the upper lip.
- Pog Pogonion — The most forward point of the chin.
- Li Labrale inferius (lower lip) — The most forward point of the lower lip.
- N Nasion — The deepest point of the dip between the forehead and the bridge of the nose.
Ideal range and tiers
Each value falls into a tier (T1 = ideal). Comfortably inside T1 the rating is 10, easing to 9.5 at the edges of the ideal range; beyond it the rating falls with the deviation — fastest in the first tiers outside the ideal — down to 0 at the far end of the worst tier.
| Tier | Range | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| T1 Ideal | −1.0 to 1.0 mm | 9.5–10 |
| T2 Acceptable | −3.0 to −1.0 mm or 1.0–2.0 mm | 4.3–9.5 |
| T3 Poor | < −3.0 mm or > 2.0 mm | 0–4.3 |
Differences between populations
Optional population norms move this range by the difference reported between groups measured the same way:
- East Asian: lower lip men +1.5 mm, women +1 mm.
- Middle Eastern: lower lip men +0.5 mm, women ±0 mm.
Individual faces vary far more within any group than between groups; these are averages, not targets.
Related measurements
References
- Holdaway RA. A soft-tissue cephalometric analysis and its use in orthodontic treatment planning. Part I. Am J Orthod. 1983;84(1):1–28.