Ricketts E-line

Nose-to-chin tangent used to judge lip position

Ricketts E-line

Lateral cephalometric radiograph (Commons). The E-line is a nose–chin tangent; lips are judged against it.
Field	Anatomy
Also known as	esthetic line, E-line, Ricketts esthetic line
Related	Chin; Riedel's line; Facial convexity; Nose; Pogonion

The Ricketts E-line (esthetic line) is a profile tangent from pronasale (nasal tip) to soft-tissue pogonion (front of the chin). Orthodontics asks where the vermilion of the upper and lower lips sit relative to that line. Classic Caucasian adult norms put both lips behind the line, the upper lip farther back than the lower (often recited as about −4 mm upper and −2 mm lower, with a couple of millimetres of scatter). Looksmaxxing borrows it as a quick “do the lips stick out past the nose–chin line” check.

A large nose pushes the line forward and makes ordinary lips look retrusive. A weak chin does the same in reverse: lips look protrusive because Pog′ is back. The line is only as honest as the two endpoints.

Riedel's line is a different tangent (lips or nose to chin). Do not mix the two.

Method

What actually moves a lip relative to the E-line:

• Chin — advancing Pog′ with sliding genioplasty or an implant brings the line back to the lips.
• Nose — rhinoplasty that changes tip projection moves the other end.
• Incisors and lips — orthodontics and veneers change lip support; that is dentistry.
• Fat — a lean face and a full face are different E-line photos. See body fat.

Norms are demographic. Published Caucasian figures are not a universal target, and they are not a PSL cutoff.

This wiki's view

The E-line is a useful profile word next to facial convexity and Riedel's line. It is a line on a tracing. This wiki does not treat a rating-app “E-line fail” screenshot as a surgical plan.

See also

• Facial convexity
• Riedel's line
• Chin
• Nose
• Pogonion
• Orthognathic surgery