Which feature is commonly manipulated during esthetic cephalometric planning?

During esthetic cephalometric planning, the orientation of the occlusal plane is a critical feature to manipulate because it significantly influences facial aesthetics and the overall balance of a patient's profile. Proper orientation of the occlusal plane aids in achieving harmonious relationships between the upper and lower jaws, thus enhancing the patient's smile and facial proportions. Adjusting the occlusal plane helps in aligning dental aesthetics with facial contours, as it can affect how other dental and skeletal structures are perceived in relation to the face.

Influencing jaw relationships and overbite measurement is important in orthodontic treatment, but these factors often focus more on functional outcomes rather than purely esthetic considerations. While dental arch width contributes to overall dental aesthetics, manipulations in occlusal plane orientation are more directly related to the aesthetics as seen in cephalometric analysis, which relies on spatial arrangements and angular measurements to assess and plan for skeletal and dental positioning from an esthetic perspective.