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The purpose of the present study is to evaluate changes of the soft tissue relative to underlying skeletal elements during orthodontic treatment, and the influence of orthodontic treatment quantitatively on various regions of the facial profile. 59 Korean young women were selected, whose Hellman dental age was IV A, IV C and V A. Lateral cephalometric head films were taken before and after orthodontic treatment. From tracings, landmarks on skeletal and soft tissue profile were located, and then their linear and angular measurements were made directly. The results were obtained as follow: 1) Soft tissues of the facial profile were closely related and dependent on the underlying dentoskeletal frameworks. Orthodontic treament resulted in the reduction of dentofacial protrusion with both upper and lower lips becoming less procumbent during treament. 2) Thickness of the upper lip increased considerably during orthodontic treatment, and this change was related to maxillary incisor retraction. The ratio between the amount of maxillary incisor retraction and that of increment of upper lip thickness was approximately 5:3. 3) Soft tissue thickness overlying Downs’’ point A, point B and pogonion was not modified by orthodontic treatment. 4) Holdaway’’s H line, relating facial profile to the underlying dentoskeletal framework, seemed to be the most practical approach to soft tissue analysis.
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