Journal of Prosthodontics News
Changes in Facial Soft Tissue Support with and without a Maxillary Labial Flange
Now online in the Journal of Prosthodontics, a study on the effects of a labial flange on lip support and facial esthetics in maxillary ISFCDP patients, co-authored by ACP Fellows, Tiffany J. Wendt-Aquino, DDS, MS, FACP and Ryan R. Sheridan, DDS, MS, FACP.
Maxillary implant-supported fixed complete dental prosthesis (ISFCDPs) often require labial flanges to obtain lip support for optimal esthetics, in addition to helping with phonetics and speech. The aim of this study was to quantify facial esthetic outcomes of prosthetic upper lip support in both full animation and repose for patients with an existing implant-supported fixed complete dental prosthesis (ISFCDP).
Twenty patients had a removable prosthetic labial flange fabricated for their existing maxillary prosthesis. The 3dMDface system was used to capture video sets of each patient going from repose to high smile with and without the labial flange. The 3dMDface system is a four-dimensional (4D) camera system that projects an unstructured white-light speckle pattern on the subject which the software reconstructs into 3D images or progressive series of images (video).
A single frame representing high smile and repose was selected from each video. Five facial anatomic markers and 21 individual points on the upper lip were evaluated for both image sets using quantitative photometric analysis. To provide a qualitative assessment, the same images were shown to dentists, laypeople, and the research subjects (patients) to determine which they found to be more esthetically pleasing.
The two-dimensional analysis showed a difference with and without a labial flange for lip projection and lip thickness. Survey results showed that research subjects (54.41%), dentists (51.50%), and laypeople (44.50%), all preferred labial flange versus no flange photos or were not able to tell a difference. The results indicate the importance of evaluating multiple facial positions and factors clinically before deciding for or against a labial flange.
Wendt-Aquino TJ, Sheridan RR. Changes in facial soft tissue support with and without a maxillary labial flange. J Prosthodont. 2024; 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1111/jopr.13973
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