The Craniofacial Skeletal Pattern of the South African Negro

Lateral cephalometric head film measurements on twenty-seven male and twenty-eight female adult craniums and mandibles with excellent occlusions were compared with similar measurements on Caucasoids with excellent occlusions. Among the differences between the two groups is the forward position of the short maxilla relative to the anterior cranial base in the South African Negro. The forward location of point A has the effect of increasing the ANB angle, since the relative position of point B in both groups is much the same. Unlike the American Negro, the labial inclination of the upper incisors in the South African Negro is not pronounced but is similar to the inclination observed in Caucasoids. Because of the large ANB angle, the lower incisors in the S.A. Negro (as in the American Negro) are severely labially inclined. Ramus height in the S.A. Negro is shorter than that of Caucasoids and appears to be related to the steep mandibular plane observed in the former population group.