Retrospective analysis of casts to assess cervical headgear treatment in the presence of vertical growth pattern.

Objective: Does molar distalization as effected by cervical headgear increase the vertical dimension of occlusion in patients with vertical growth pattern?

Materials And Methods: A sample of 86 patients with neutral and vertical growth pattern in the late mixed dentition stage underwent headgear treatment. Their initial and intermediary casts were retrospectively analyzed for occlusal relationships at the maxillary first molars and degrees of overjet and overbite. The only cases included were those in which headgear treatment was carried on for at least 6 months, achieving a minimum distalization of 4 mm. The intermediary casts were fabricated after headgear treatment had been completed and prior to the initiation of multiband treatment. Patients were divided into three groups (N, V1 and V2) according to the degrees of vertical growth pattern, which were determined based on y-axis angle values.

Results: Grouped by degrees of vertical growth, the data revealed occlusal relationship changes of 6-8 mm and overjet reductions of 0.6-1.2 mm. The overbite changes were unexpectedly small (0-0.04 mm). Grouped by degrees of overbite, the data revealed that headgear treatment increased the vertical dimension of occlusion in deep-bite patients (>4 mm), while giving rise to decreases in patients with overbites of <3 mm.