A technique for measurement of intraoral lip pressures with lip bumper therapy

One of the reported effects of functional appliance therapy is muscular adaptation achieved through the use of vestibular shields. To develop a method for measuring these effects, 10 children with Class I molar occlusion in the late mixed-dentition stage underwent lip bumper therapy for 8 months. Semiconductor pressure transducers mounted on Tru-Tain stents in the mandibular midline and left canine areas were used to measure lip pressures with the patient at rest and during five functional exercises. Resting and speaking lip pressures for the midline transducer showed significant increases 1 month after lip bumper placement and then decreased to near or below pretreatment levels, possibly an adaptive response. Left-side resting pressures also showed a gradual decrease. In contrast, left-side speaking pressures showed no significant changes over time. The swallowing pressures were not replicable because of excessive background fluctuations. The results of this study indicate that this method has potential for improving clinical diagnosis. The preliminary data also suggest an adaptive response of lip muscles that varies according to anatomic location.