Measurement · HANGLE
Holdaway H-angle
Loading the reference ceph.
Definition
The angle between the soft-tissue facial line (soft Nasion → soft Pogonion) and the H-line (upper lip → soft Pogonion) — Holdaway's harmony angle.
How
Draw the soft facial line N′→Pog′ and the H-line from Labrale superius (Ls) tangent to Pog′; the H-angle is measured where they meet at the soft-tissue chin (norm ≈ 7–15°, ideally matching the skeletal convexity).
Purpose
Holdaway's core harmony measure: how far the upper lip stands ahead of the soft facial line. He keyed the ideal H-angle to the patient's own skeletal convexity — so it grades whether the LIP posture is in harmony with the skeleton rather than against a fixed number.
High
Above the norm reads as a prominent upper lip relative to the facial line — convex soft-tissue profile (Class II look).
Low
Below the norm reads as a flat upper lip on the facial line — straight/concave profile; further retraction would hollow the lip.
Built from
Listed by Soft tissue.
This is a reviewed tracing on one real cephalogram — the same ceph on every page in Learn — so Holdaway H-angle here is a real reading and not a diagram.