Daylia, yes, Lip bumpers are still used routinely on patients who have the need. If you have a mentalis habit which makes you constantly flex your lower lip, it is the only effective way of treating the problem, but it is not meant as a torture device.

jimmy, so sorry to disagree but lip-biting, like stuttering and prolonged thumb-sucking etc, is not a "mental habits" but simply an outlet for subconscious emotional tension. The most effective and humane way to eliminate a habit like this is to identify and eliminate the sources of emotional tension, while teaching the child less problematic ways of dealing with stress.

There are plenty of gentle, loving, behavioural (ie psychological) techniques that help reduce or eliminate emotional tension. These could be used patiently, in combination with education about hte risks of the target behaviour to build up the child's determination to eliminate the habit.

An approach like this might take longer, but is certainly more intelligent and humane than subjecting a child to physical torture for years on end with an implement that causes chronic misery and anxiety every time the kid speaks, eats or drinks - not to mention the permament lesion which spreads inflammation and infection throughout mouth for years, damaging the soft tissues and setting them up for a lifetime of disease.

THe very fact they are marketed as "Lip-Bumpers" rather than the "Lip-Slicers" is unethical and a glaring example of professional misinformation and dishonesty!

ANd in some cases, I'm sure, professional sadism.

Janine, I'm Canadian and no, orthodontics are far from being "free" here. Even if they were, I wouldn't let one near me or my child with a ten-foot pole - unless that child was in REAL dire straits (had teeth like a beaver) But in light of the hazards and pre-disposition toward chronic oral disease directly caused by orthodontic devices and procedures, I do understand how it pays off for the dental profession to offer parents free orthodontics for their kids!