Pressure from the lips and the tongue in children with class III malocclusion

Objective： To discuss possible relationships between class In malocclusion and perioral forces by measuring the pressure from the lips and the tongue of children with class nI malocclusion. Methods： Thirty-one children with class In malocclusion were investigated and their perioral forces were measured at rest and during swallowing under natural head position by a custom-made miniperioral force computer measuring system. Results： The resting pressures exerted on the labial side and palatine side of the upper lett incisor, as well as the labial side and lingual side of the lower lett incisor, were 0 g/cm^2, 0 g/cm^2, 0.57 g/cm^2 and 0.23 g/cm^2, respectively. Correspondingly, the swallowing forces were 2.87 g/cm^2, 5.97 g/cm^2, 4.09 g/cm^2 and 7.89 g/cm^2, respectively. No statistical difference between muscular pressure and gender existed. During swallowing, the lingual forces were significantly higher than the labial forces （P〈0.01）, however, at rest there was no significantly different force between these two sides. Compared to the normal occlusion patients, children with class Ⅲ malocclusion had lower pedoral forces. The upper labial resting forces （P〈0.01）, the lower labial resting forces （P〈0.05） and all the swallowing pressures from the lips and the tongue （P〈0.01） showed statistical differences between the two different occlusion conditions. Meanwhile, no significant difference was found for the resting pressure from the tongue between class Ⅲ malocclusion and normal occlusion. Conclusion： Patients with class Ⅲ malocclusion have lower perioral forces and this muscle hypofunction may be secondary to the spatial relations of the jaws. The findings support the spatial matrix hypothesis.