Lower Lip Sucking Habit Treated With A Lip Bumper Appliance

Abstract

The patient was an 11-year-old girl with a lower lip sucking habit with increased overjet, maxillary generalized spacing, and mandibular incisor irregularity. Hyperactivity of the mentalis muscle and deepening of the labiomental sulcus because of the abnormal sucking habit was observed. Orthodontic treatment was started with a lip bumper appliance to break the lower lip sucking habit and continued with fixed orthodontic mechanotherapy. The lip bumper appliance therapy resulted in the elimination of the lower lip sucking habit, musculus mentalis hyperactivity, and labiomental strain in addition to a gain in arch length, improvement of the lower incisor inclinations, and overjet reduction.