Soft tissue profile: a survey of African-American preference.

Soft tissue profile is a critical area of interest in the development of an orthodontic treatment plan. This study was designed to elicit the current soft tissue profile preference of African-American respondents. Results indicate that: (1) African-American male and female subjects prefer relatively flat profiles, with varied fullness of the lips. (2) African-American male and female subjects prefer the male subjects to have more protrusive profiles than the female subjects. (3) Respondents do not always correctly select their own profile type. (4) More than a third of the respondents desire a change in their own profile.