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Updated: Apr 20, 2026
Author Spotlight: 3D Movement Assessment of Maxillary Posterior Teeth in Clear Aligner Treatment
Published on: February 23, 2024
Three-dimensional assessment of upper lip positional changes according to simulated maxillary anterior tooth
Hwee-Ho Kim1, Jin-Woo Lee1, Kyung-Suk Cha1
1Department of Orthodontics, School of Dentistry, Dankook University, Cheonan, Korea.
Objective:
Esthetic improvements during orthodontic treatment are achieved by changes in positions of the lips and surrounding soft tissues. Facial soft-tissue movement has already been two-dimensionally evaluated by cephalometry. In this study, we aimed to three-dimensionally assess positional changes of the adult upper lip according to simulated maxillary anterior tooth movements by white light scanning.
Methods:
We measured changes in three-dimensional coordinates of labial landmarks in relation to maxillary incisor movements of normal adults simulated with films of varying thickness by using a white light scanner.
Results:
With increasing protraction, the upper lip moved forward and significantly upward. Labial movement was limited by the surrounding soft tissues. The extent of movement above the vermilion border was slightly less than half that of the teeth, showing strong correlation. Most changes were concentrated in the depression above the upper vermilion border. Labial movement toward the nose was reduced significantly.
Conclusions:
After adequately controlling several variables and using white light scanning with high reproducibility and accuracy, the coefficient of determination showed moderate values (0.40-0.77) and significant changes could be determined. This method would be useful to predict soft-tissue positional changes according to tooth movements.
