Prevalence and Correlation of Lip Shapes and Arch Forms in Primary Dentition of Children between 3-6 Years of Age: A Cross-sectional Study.

Abstract

Aims and background: The study of the morphology of soft tissues as well as hard tissues of the orofacial region holds prime importance. A very less information is known about the lips (soft tissues) and maxillo-mandibular arches (hard tissue structures) in primary dentition. Henceforth, there is a need to classify, find the prevalence and correlation of various lip shapes, and arch forms in primary dentition.

Materials and methods: A total of 135 children aged 3-6 years were assessed over a period of 6 months. Lip shapes were classified into three major types: type I (arched upper lip), type II (flat upper lip), and type III (atypical cases). The arch forms were classified into ovoid, square-shaped, and tapered. The data was analyzed using Chi-squared test.

Results: The prevalence of lip shapes includes: type Ib (43.70%), type IIb (34.07%), type IIa (14.07%), type Ia (7.41%), and type III (0.74%). Arch form prevalence for maxilla, ovoid (79.26%), tapered (16.30%), and square (4.44%) shaped arch form while for mandible, ovoid (57.04%), square (36.30%), and tapered (6.67%) arch form.

Conclusion: The most prevalent lip shapes were type Ib followed by type IIb and the most common arch form was ovoid followed by tapered for maxilla and square for mandible. There was no significant correlation found between lip shapes and arch forms in primary dentition.

Clinical significance: The knowledge of lip shapes in primary dentition would aid in rehabilitation of the abnormalities like cleft lip, electrical burns, etc., while the information on arch forms will support the fabrication of prefabricated appliances, correction of alveolar defects, etc.

How to cite this article: Anadeo P, Saxena A, Chauhan SP, et al. Prevalence and Correlation of Lip Shapes and Arch Forms in Primary Dentition of Children between 3-6 Years of Age: A Cross-sectional Study. Int J Clin Pediatr Dent 2024;17(12):1418-1422.