Densitometric evaluation of changes in the soft tissue of the chin and the lower lip during the treatment of Class III malocclusion.

The aim of this study was to use densitometry of lateral skull teleradiographs to evaluate the changes that occurred in the lower lip and chin after orthodontic or orthodontic-surgical treatment of Class III malocclusion. Forty teleradiographs from 20 patients with mandibular prognathism were made at the beginning and end of treatment. In ten of these patients the treatment was exclusively orthodontic with an edgewise appliance, and in another ten the treatment was orthodontic with a straight wire appliance combined with orthognathic and mentoplastic surgery. In the patients who were only treated orthodontically, a significant increase in density of the lower lip and the chin was found after treatment. This seemed to be related to an increase of muscular tension in these areas. Patients treated with orthognathic surgery and the straight wire appliance showed a decrease in density of the chin after treatment, but not of the lip. This can be interpreted as a consequence of muscular normalization after this procedure was accomplished.