Changes in lip and perioral soft tissue after bracket removal / 대한치과교정학회지

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: Soft tissue changes due to orthodontic treatment has large individual variation. Therefore continuous evaluation during treatment is required. Patients with fixed orthodontic appliances often wonder if their lip positions will change after the removal of brackets, but only a few studies exist on this topic. The objective of this study was to evaluate the changes of the lips and perioral soft tissue after bracket removal. METHODS: The sample used in this study was 19 males and 33 females. Cephalometric X-rays were taken at 3 stages - T1 (before debonding), T2 (just after debonding), T3 (1.5 months after debonding). RESULTS: The lower lip was retruded immediately after debonding (T2-T1), and 1.5 months after debonding (T3-T2). The mean amounts of retrusion from the vertical reference plane (sG perpendicular line) were about 0.38 mm for the upper lip and 0.88 mm for the lower lip. Immediately after debonding, lip retrusion of females was greater than that of males. During the post-debonding period, lower lip of males was retruded more than that of females. CONCLUSION: Lips are retruded after bracket removal, and there is no gender difference 1.5 months after debonding.