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malocclusion
In spite of the continuous interest of orthodontists in the influence of the soft tissues
surrounding the dental arches on the position of the teeth, this influence is far from clear.
There is, however, evidence that the soft tissues play a role in determining the position of
the teeth. When the buccolingual dimension of teeth is increased, thus encroaching upon
the space normally occupied by the lips or the tongue, the teeth move.’ There is, however,
no simple balance relation- ship between forces acting on the teeth from the outside of the
dental arches, that is, from the lips and cheeks, and forces from the tongue on the inside.
The forces from the tongue have consistently been found to be greater than those from the
lips.* Other unknown forces must therefore contribute to the force system in which the
teeth are in a state of equilibrium.
Of the forces from the soft tissues, those from the tissues in the passive resting state are
believed to be more important than forces exerted upon the teeth during various functions
such as speech and swallowing. The total duration of such “active” forces during 24 hours is
too short to move teeth.
To measure the pressure from the lips on the teeth clinically, Posen developed a simple
device, a dynamometer (pommeter), with which the maximum strength of the lips could be
measured. This is thought to reflect the forces from the lips on the teeth. Posen showed that
the maximum lip strength varied with the Angle class. The value of lip strength
measurements has been questioned by Ingervall and Janson. These authors were unable to
find any correlation between the lip strength and bite morphology. These discrepancies raise
the question as to what the lip force measurements represent. Are they an expression of the
forces from the lips acting on the teeth?
The development of a new, simple system for the measurement of forces from the lips on
the teeth offers an opportunity to compare measurements of lip strength and forces on the
teeth in a larger series of subjects. It also offers an opportunity to elucidate possible
relationships between forces from the lips on the teeth and the morphologies of the
dentition and the soft tissues. These were the aims of this study.
Subjects Eighty-four children (44 boys and 40 girls) were studied. Their median age was 10
years 2 months (range, 6 years 8 months to 15 years 10 months). The children were to start
orthodontic treatment at the orthodontic clinic, University of Bern, and were included in the
study in the order in which they were registered for treatment. All children coming for
treatment during the time period covered by the investigation were included. The sample
therefore consists of children with malocclusions of all types and varying degrees of severity.
METHODS
Morphology : The usual orthodontic documentation, including dental casts and profile x-ray
cephalograms (with the mandible in the intercuspal position and with relaxed lips), was
peformed.
From the dental casts, the number of deciduous and permanent teeth present, and the
dental stage according to Bjiirk, Krebs, and Solow’ were determined. Overjet and overbite
were measured by the method of Lund- striim.’ The width and length of the dental arches
were measured as shown in Fig. 1 with special sliding calipers’ to the nearest tenth of a
millimeter. The Angle class was determined from the casts.
The reference points and lines used in the cepha- lometric analysis are shown in Figs. 2 and
3. In addition to analysis of dentoalveolar and skeletal morphologies, the morphology of the
lips was measured on the radiographs as shown in Figs. 4 through 6. The variables recorded
in the cephalometric analysis are listed in Table I.
Lip function
The strength of the lips was assessed with a pom- meter as described by Posen.3,4The same
instrument and method have been used in earlier investigations by one of the present
authors. 5,9,‘oThe instrument consists of a mouthpiece connected to a dynamometer (Fig.
7), which registers a traction force in grams when the mouthpiece is drawn from the lips (Fig.
8). The apparatus measures the maximum force with which the lips can resist the
mouthpiece being pulled loose from the grip between the upper and lower lips. The
procedure for the lips force measurements was as described by Ingervall and Janson, that is,
the median value of five recordings was used as the measurement of lip strength (POM
value).
Pressure from the lips on the teeth was measured in the midline between the upper central
incisors (upper lip pressure) and in the midline between the lower central incisors (lower lip
pressure). The lip pressure measuring system described by thuer, Jason and Ingerval was
used. The system consists of an extraoral pressure transducer incorporated in a water-filled
system with an intraoral mouthpiece at the position where the lip pressure is recorded (Fig.
9).
The intraoral measurement point was on the labial surface of the tooth, level with the tip of
the gingival papilla. In this position an open cannula was attached, embedded in a small
custom-made acrylic shield (mouthpiece) that was bonded to the teeth. The open end of the
cannula was flush with the acrylic surface. The other end of the cannula was connected via a
tube to a pressure transducer, a bottle containing water and compressed air. The system was
filled with water that was under pressure, causing a small, constant stream of water to
escape through the open end of the cannula. This was, however, covered by the inside of the
lip, which offered a resistance to the escape of water. In this way an additional pressure that
was measured with the manometer and reflected the pressure from the lip on the acrylic
shield was built up in the water system. A high pressure from the lip makes the escape of
water through the cannula difficult and a high pressure is registered in the fluid system.
Lip pressure measurments were made with the lips and mandible in the rest position, and
during chewing and swallowing of Swedish crispbread.
The state of rest of the lips and their activity during chewing and swallowing was recorded
electromyo- graphically with a DISA electromyograph.* Bipolar surface electrodes were
placed on the upper and lower lips, and on the right masseter muscle with an earth electrode
on one ear lobe. The masseter activity was recorded to assessthe phase of the chewing cycle.
The methods used for the recording of lip pressure and mus- cle activity were described in
an earlier study in which the same equipment was used.6
The following recordings of lip function were made in the order given:
1. Measurement of lip strength (POM value)
2. Simultaneous recording of upper lip pressure and muscle activity of both lips
The resting lip pressure was measured on the recordings when the EMG activity of the lip in
question was minimal for at least 5 seconds.
The direct EMG recording of the masseter activity was used for determination of the start of
the opening and closing phases of the chewing cycle.
The maximum lip pressure during the opening and closing phases of the chewing cycle was
measured in six randomly selected chewing cycles in each of two acts of chewing. Thus,
altogether 12 chewing cycles were analyzed.
The maximum lip pressure was measured during two acts of swallowing (terminating the two
acts of chewing recorded).
The mean values of the two recordings at rest, the two recordings of swallowing, and the 12
cycles of chewing were considered to represent the lip pressure during rest, chewing, and
swallowing, respectively.
Statistical methods
Differences between distributions were tested with the Wilcoxon matched-pairs signed
ranks test or with the Mann-Whitney U test. Correlations among variables were tested with
the Spearman rank-correlation. The critical values for the correlation coefficient (N = 84)
were 0.22 (0.01 < P < 0.05), 0.28 (0.001 < P < 0.0l), and 0.36 (P < 0.001).