Lip Habits

Lip Habits impact the position of teeth.  If the lip is putting excessive force on the teeth, the teeth will move in response.

The most common lip habit is the positioning of the lower lip between the upper and lower front teeth.  This position pushes the lower front teeth backwards and the upper front teeth forwards.

This habit usually develops when a patient has a large “overjet” to begin with.  In the case of large overjet, the lip tends to naturally be captured between the upper and lower front teeth.

Correcting a patient’s overjet with orthodontics commonly solves a lip habit.