Maxillary “en masse” high-pull traction in Class II division 1 subjects: Which kind of skeletal outcomes does it produce?

Abstract

AIM: The aim of the present prospective study was to evaluate if the treatment performed using high-pull traction on a Stephenson plate had real orthopaedic outcomes in subjects with severe Class II Division 1 malocclusion due to maxillary protrusion. METHODS: Twenty-three growing patients showing Class II Division 1 malocclusion (Stephenson plate group, SPG) were treated and compared with an untreated Class II control group (CG – 21 subjects selected from the database of Bolton-Brush Growth Study). Lateral cephalograms at T0 and T1 for both groups were analysed using cephalometric tracing by Jarabak, Pancherz and Ghosh-Nanda. CONCLUSION: The high-pull traction on the Stephenson plate produced more dental than skeletal outcomes in growing subjects, despite of the application of orthopaedic forces.