Measurement · ULIPE
Upper lip to E-line
Loading the reference ceph.
Definition
The perpendicular distance of the upper lip (Labrale superius) from Ricketts' esthetic E-line — the line from nose tip (Prn) to soft-tissue chin (Pog′).
How
Draw the E-line Prn→Pog′; drop a perpendicular from Ls. Negative = behind the line (normal for adults, ≈ −4 mm); positive = ahead of it. Children sit closer to the line — the norm recedes with age as the nose and chin grow.
Purpose
Ricketts' quick esthetic screen for lip prominence: it frames the lips between the profile's two fixed features (nose, chin). It drives extraction/retraction esthetics — lips already behind the line argue against retraction that would flatten the face further.
High
Above the norm reads as a protrusive upper lip for the nose–chin frame (lip ahead of its age norm).
Low
Below the norm reads as a retrusive upper lip — a flat midface look; retraction is esthetically risky.
This is a reviewed tracing on one real cephalogram — the same ceph on every page in Learn — so Upper lip to E-line here is a real reading and not a diagram.