Changes in Facial Soft Tissue Support with and without a Maxillary Labial Flange
Abstract
Purpose: To quantify the effects of a labial flange on upper lip support and facial esthetics in active (high smile) and relaxed (repose) lip positions in maxillary hybrid denture patients. Materials and Methods: Each research subject had a removable flange fabricated using Aquasil heavy body consistency Polyvinyl Siloxane (PVS). A standardized videography methodology utilizing the 3dMDface.t system was used to capture high smile and repose in research subjects with and without the removable flange. A single 3D frame of each position from both videos (with and without the flange) was captured and saved for further analysis. In order to limit probability of researcher bias, a survey was conducted in which the research subjects, a group of dentists, and a group of laypeople, were shown digital images and asked which they found to be more esthetic, or if they could not tell a difference. The results of the survey were evaluated to confirm proper contour of the removable flanges and absence of researcher bias. High smile frames from each subject, with and without the removable flange, were imported into 3dMDVultus software for quantitative two-dimensional facial analysis using 5 facial anatomic markers: subnasale, labrale superior, stomion, nasolabial angle and lip thickness. Three-dimensional quantitative photometric analysis of facial soft tissue contour was completed on the 3dMDVultus software comparing superimposed images with and without the removable flange at positions of both high smile and repose. Results: two-dimensional results showed a significant difference in millimeters (mm) with and without a flange for measurement point B (landmark at junction of vertical line of alar border and horizontal line at level of labrale superior) to labrale superior (LS) and measurement of philtrum, (PH) to stomion (STO), with p values of less than 0.05, while the other landmarks did not show a statistically significant difference.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 25, 2021
- Accession Number
- AD1183219
Entities
People
- Ryan R Sheridan
- Tiffany J Wendt-aquino
Organizations
- Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences