Lips · Side photo

Upper lip to E-line

E-line

Ricketts' esthetic line. In adults the upper lip usually sits a few millimetres behind it.

How it's measured

Distance of the most forward point of the upper lip (labrale superius) from the line from the nose tip (pronasale) to the chin (pogonion), as a percentage of face height (nasion to menton). Positive means in front of the line, negative behind it. One decimal, because 1% is only about 1.2 mm.

Reference range

Male reference

−4.7 to −1.6%

Female reference

−5.2 to −1.7%

Source: Ricketts RM. Esthetics, environment, and the law of lip relation. Am J Orthod 1968;54:272-289: upper lip about 4 mm behind the line, as in the community formula's top range. Range 4 ± 2 mm behind, converted to % of face height.

In the score

Counts toward the score with weight 2.5 (Community formula point table: Ricketts' E-line, 5 points, split evenly between the two lips).

What changes it

• Typical values differ between populations, so the reference range fits some faces better than others.
• Measured on the skin outline, so muscle and soft tissue affect it as well as bone.

One number, one feature

One measurement describes one detail in one photo. Pose, lens and expression move it, and every reference range is an average from limited samples.