MEAN VALUE OF THE ANGLE AMONG THE THREE VARIANTS OF ALATRAGUS LINE AND OCCLUSAL PLANE IN DENTATE SUBJECTS

Objectives: To determine the mean value of angle among the three variants of ala-tragus line (ATL) and OP in dentate individuals and to identify which among the three variants is parallel to OP.Materials and Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study included 190 subjects of both gender with age range 20-40 years fulfi lling the inclusion criteria. Left Profi le photograph of the participant was taken with a digital camera (Canon 600D) in natural head position holding Fox OP between teeth. Image was analyzed using Adobe Photoshop CS6 software and most parallel relationship determined between the 3 variants of ala- tragus line and arm of the fox OP. Statistical analysis of the data was done using SPSS version 20.Results: Out of 190 participants, males formed 53.7% whereas females formed 46.3%. The mean age was 29.5±5.35 (SD) yrs. A total of 109 patients fell within the 20-30 years. The three variants of ATL were found to be at a considerable angle to OP. Angle ≤ 5° was considered to be parallel for this study. Inferior variant of ATL (ATL-I) was found to have least angle with OP (mean value 3.56° ± 1.17). The relationship between the OP and three variants of ATL was stratifi ed among age and gender and was found to be non-significant.Conclusion: In maximum subjects, the ATL-I was found to be parallel to be the OP suggesting inferior border of the tragus to be the reference point for the ATL.