For decades, headgears have been used to treat prominence of the upper front teeth, also termed "excess overjet". Success with headgear requires 12-14 hours per day of wear. Headgears also can be used to inhibit vertical jaw growth, which results in bite opening in the front. Difficulties with headgear relate to discomfort and/or unwillingness of the patient to wear it consistently. Factors most often cited include awkward appearance and too busy a schedule to allow the required number of hours of wear required. Tooth movement with headgear is not proportional to the number of hours worn and will not occur at all without 12-14 hours of wear per day. We still do use headgears in appropriate situations if patients are willing to cooperate. Check out some of the great headgear alternatives such as the MARA, Herbst, or Forsus appliances. Take a look at a Headgear case.

This spring like device is attached to the lower front and upper rear braces for 4-5 months and worn continuously. It's success, unlike headgear, does not depend on patient cooperation. During the past four years that it has been available, we've found it to be a reliable, relatively comfortable, and predictable method to achieve headgear type tooth movement without much help from the patient. No nagging about wearing headgear is required if the Forsus is used. Check out the pictures of the Forsus.

These devices are in the family of fixed functional appliances. These devices integrate with braces in an effort to achieve correction of bite malrelationships characterized by weak or retrusive lower jaws. Recent research indicates that the MARA can add length to the lower jaw and achieve a combination of other helpful changes all intended to correct more severe bite problems. These appliances are generally worn for 12-18 months during a 24-30 month orthodontic treatment and are considered a more aggressive form of therapy than braces alone, headgear, or the Forsus. The difference between the MARA and the Herbst is that the former does not interconnect the jaws while the latter does. We have had success with both approaches and comfort issues are about the same. Check out our Herbst and Mara cases.