Nasomental Angle: Nose and Chin Balance in Side Profile

The nasomental angle links the nasal dorsum and the chin in a side profile. A common construction measures the angle where a dorsal line meets a line from the nasal tip to soft tissue pogonion, the most forward visible chin point. Its value combines nose and chin position. Specify whether the dorsal arm is a tangent or a line from nasion to the tip.

Use a true side profile showing the nasal root, tip and entire chin. Mark the tip and soft tissue pogonion. Draw the tip-to-chin line and the chosen nasal dorsal line, then measure the included angle.

If the dorsal arm runs from nasion to the tip, label that choice. A tangent fitted to a curved bridge can give a different angle. Keep the same definition when comparing sessions or research values.

Save the annotated photograph. A number without its construction does not distinguish a change in the chin from a different bridge tangent.

Moving the chin changes one arm; changing the nasal dorsum or tip changes the other. A different nasomental angle can therefore arise from several combinations of features.

A cephalometric study of 386 Polish orthodontic patients aged 9–25 found associations among nasal measurements, jaw relationships, age and sex. Because it was observational and included growing patients, it cannot establish how an adult should change one feature (PMID 33809695).

An image experiment used six 3D faces and 75 dental-student raters to test preferred chin projection. Preferences varied with frontal facial type and sex of the depicted face. The manipulated measure was a facial profile angle, not a universal nasomental-angle target (PMID 28337420).

Interpret a nose-to-chin angle alongside the frontal face. A profile-only comparison leaves out width, taper and lower-face height.

A retrospective study of 90 patients examined combined rhinoplasty and genioplasty over three years. It evaluated an operated, selected population and cannot establish that a particular angle requires treatment (PMID 23493992).

The paper illustrates why nose and chin outcomes may be assessed together. Decisions about treatment require more than a photographic angle.

Use a camera position that shows the true silhouette without rotating the head toward the lens. Include the full chin; cropping or facial hair can obscure pogonion.

Repeat the capture at the same distance. Small changes in the tip and chin landmarks can alter both the angle and the E line.

Shastra estimates the visible profile. Check the nose-to-chin line and dorsal reference before interpreting a nasomental result.

Read nasal tip projection and facial convexity to examine the components independently.

The nasomental angle summarizes a relationship between two regions. Identify which region changed before drawing a conclusion from the combined number.

Use matched captures and a fixed construction, and compare the other guides in the measurement directory.

To measure the bend through the forehead, midface and chin, use the facial convexity angle and its glabella or nasion landmarks. For the angle directly beneath the nose, use the nasolabial angle measurement.