A cephalometric study of the Class II correction effects of the Eureka Spring

The effect of the Eureka Spring (ES) appliance was investigated on 37 consecutively treated, noncompliant patients with bilateral Class II malocclusions. Lateral cephalographs were taken at the start of orthodontic treatment (T1), at insertion of the ES (T2), and at removal of the ES (T3). The average treatment interval between T2 and T3 was four months. The Class II correction occurred almost entirely by dentoalveolar movement and was almost equally distributed between the maxillary and mandibular dentitions. The rate of molar correction was 0.7 mm/mo. There was no change in anterior face height, mandibular plane angle, palatal plane angle, or gonial angle with treatment. There was a 2 degrees change in the occlusal plane resulting from intrusion of the maxillary molar and the mandibular incisor. Based on the results in this sample, the ES appliance was very effective in correcting Class II malocclusions in noncompliant patients without increasing the vertical dimension.