Evaluation of soft tissue changes around the lips after bracket debonding using three-dimensional stereophotogrammetry

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the changes in soft tissue around the lips after orthodontic bracket debonding using three-dimensional (3-D) stereophotogrammetry. Materials and Methods: 3-D facial images of 20 subjects (10 men and 10 women; mean age, 26.81 ± 7.23 years) were taken with a white light scanner before and after debonding the labial brackets. Two images acquired from each subject were superimposed, and 15 soft tissue landmarks around the lips were plotted and analyzed. Statistical analysis was performed using both paired and independent t-tests (P