Abstract
When patients complain that they open the mouth at rest on many occasions, dentists are likely to conclude that they are mouth breathers. Such mouth breathing might relate especially to tongue habits affecting antero-posterior and horizontal balances of the force on the occlusion. In competent lip is one of the functional disorders in maxillary protrusion, and improving the functional disorder will lead to significant improvement in the aesthetic problem. In addition, vertical problems of the dento-facial complex will also affect the lip sealing function.
Maxillary protrusion is characterized by features such as labial inclinations of the upper incisor or a retruded position of the mandible. However, maxillary protrusion might exhibit not only a problem at the anterior-posterior position of the dentition but also a vertical problem of a maxillofacial area and occlusion. To improve malocclusion with vertical discrepancies, we are able to choose options such as the extrusion of incisors, intrusion of the molars using headgear and implant anchor and surgical impaction of the maxilla. The last two will result in the upward rotation of the mandible.
I presented the diagnosis, treatment method, and prognosis of the following cases, which had a
vertical problem with functional disorder of the tongue and incompetent lip.
1) Improved the lip sealing function by mechanical orthodontic treatment
2) Improved the open bite with correction of the tongue habit
3) The treatment in the case with a higher facial height
(a) Lingual movement of incisors
(b) Depression of the molars using the implant anchor
(c) Impaction of the maxilla with an orthognathic surgical treatment
