A national survey of orthodontic facebow injuries in the UK and Eire

There have been several reports of soft tissue injuries from orthodontic facebows in the dental and medical literature, but the magnitude of the problem in the UK and Eire has never been previously investigated. In order to obtain information, questionnaires were distributed to 1682 Dental practitioners providing orthodontic treatment in the UK and Eire. A total of 1117 (66 per cent) replied. Of these 859 (77 per cent) reported using Kloehn type facebows. Thirty-one practitioners (3.6 per cent) gave details of 33 injuries from Kloehn type facebows. The results of this questionnaire are compared and discussed with previous reports in the dental and medical literature. The relative effectiveness of extra-oral traction safety products is discussed.