Nonsurgical treatment of adult open bite using edgewise appliance combined with high-pull headgear and class III elastics

This case report describes the effect of a combination of high-pull headgear and Class III elastics on the nonsurgical treatment of an adult open bite. The 19-year 1-month-old Japanese female presented with the anterior open bite of 4.0 mm and mild crowding. She had a skeletal Class II but a Class III molar relationship due to a severe proclination of the mandibular dental arch. Unilateral congenital missing premolars caused a discrepancy between the facial and dental midline. After extraction of two premolars and the impacted mandibular third molars, nonsurgical therapy was performed using the standard edgewise appliance combined with a high-pull headgear and Class III elastics. The successful treatment outcome and stability of the final occlusion indicates that a combination of high-pull headgear and Class III elastics is one of the effective devices in the nonsurgical treatment of open bite and, is especially helpful in uprighting the mandibular dental arch.