A study on some oro-facial variables of adults of bonny ethnic group in Nigeria

A B S T R A C T This study was carried out to determine the mean values of facial, nasal, maxillary, mandibular and oro-facial heights for the people of Bonny ethnic group in Rivers State of Nigeria. One thousand (1000) adult subjects purely of Bonny ethnic origin were randomly selected for the study; this comprised five hundred (500) male and five hundred (500) female subjects. Those selected for the study were purely of Bonnyorigin, that is, those whose parents and grandparents were Bonnies. Subjects ages were between 18 and 76years. The above oro-facial variables were measured with the aid of a digital vernier caliper at various standard landmarks. The results obtained were analyzed using discrete statistics for mean and standard deviation. Test of significance was done with z test. Results obtained indicated that male subjects had a mean facial height of 11.98 ± 3.44cm, nasal height of 4.58 ± 0.21cm, maxillary height of 2.51 ± 0.14cm, mandibular height of 4.50 ± 0.17cm andoro-facial height of 7.02 ± 0.19cm while female subjects had a mean facial height of 11.36 ± 0.47cm, nasal height of 4.42 ±0.12cm, maxillary height of 2.39 ± 0.13cm, mandibular height of 4.36 ± 1.48cm and oro-facial height of 6.74 ± 0.17cm. Male subjects had significantly higher mean values than female subjects in all variables. Thus the above oro-facial variables are sexually dimorphic among the Bonny ethnic group. The results of this study also showed that Bonny ethnic group has its characteristic orofacial features as its values differ from other Nigerian ethnic groups and world populations previously investigated. The results of this study is recommended for anthropological, forensic and clinical investigations of the Bonny ethnic group. The plastic or cosmetic surgeon working on Nigerians especially people from Bonny Island should feel free to use this data as it is reliable.