Lip Changes following Anterior Teeth Retraction in Orthodontically Treated Patients

Aim To estimate the changes in the lip with the retraction of anterior teeth in orthodontically treated patients. Objective To study the amount the amount of changes seen in the upper lip with the various degrees of retraction of the upper anterior teeth in patients under orthodontic correction. Background In orthodontic treatment the correction of anterior teeth proclination is carried out by creating space with extractions. With the retraction of the proclined anterior teeth, the lip which is in close contact with it also undergoes changes based on the degree of retraction. This study aims to analyse the various changes of the lip with the changes in anterior teeth position. Materials and method Pre- and post-treatment cephalograms of 41 patients who have undergone correction of class I or class II division I malocclusion is collected and traced manually and analysed cephalometrically for this study. Result Positive correlation between the retractions of the upper lip following the upper teeth retraction is seen in an average of 0.51 cases. Negative correlation i. e. increase in the lip thickness with the retraction of upper anterior teeth is seen in an average of 0.29 cases and no changes are seen after the anterior teeth retraction in average of 0.19 cases.