[Results of a comparative study of skeletal anomaly Class II cases after activator, headgear and combined headgear-activator treatment].

Abstract

The causal therapy of skeletal Class II anomaly consists of the changes of the jaws' relationships to each other during the growth of the craniofacial complex. A plenty of orthodontic appliances are employed, the effectiveness of which remain debatable. This paper attempts to compare the three main orthodontic appliances used in our clinic: activator, headgear and combined headgear activator. Patients with a skeletal Class II anomaly at the beginning of treatment were studied with two different types of cephalometric analysis. The lateral X-ray head films were carried out directly before and after treatment. In this study the growth pattern of the patients' craniofacial complex has been seriously taken into consideration. Following conclusions are to be taken: The initial skeletal Class II anomaly as well as the orthodontic appliances have to be differentially evaluated by the treatment planning. The isolated changes are often not great, but taken as a whole, they attain to correct the existing anomaly. The annual rates of the jaws' length depends not only on the age, the sex and the duration of orthodontic treatment, but also on the growth pattern of the craniofacial complex and the particularities of treatment methods. In order to achieve the therapeutic aims all these factors are to be considered for the treatment planning.