2004 Volume 67 Issue 2 Pages 205-209
The high-pull headgear appliance is used to control the vertical anchorage of maxillary molars in the orthodontic treatment of maxillary protrusion, preventing over growth of the maxilla, and mandibular clockwise rotation. We studied changes in cephalogram indexes of 32 female maxillary protrusion patients between 13 and 15 years of age who were treated with and without the high-pull headgear. Sixteen of them used the headgear, and another 16 did not. The cephalograms of the subjects were recorded and the indexes were measured. The Student's t-test showed a significant difference in FMA at the 1% level between the two groups. Although FMA decreased in the group treated with the high-pull headgear, it increased in the group without the headgear. The difference between the two groups was about 3.1 degrees. There was a significant difference at the 5% level in changes of ANB. The group treated with the headgear showed a greater decrease in ANB than did the controls. The average difference was about 1.3 degrees. There were no significant differences in changes of other indexes, such as SNA. We concluded that the high-pull headgear prevents mandibular clockwise rotation and improves ANB by controlling vertical elements.
