For decades, headgears have been used to treat prominence of the upper front teeth, also termed "excess overjet". Success with headgear requires 12-14 hours per day of wear. Headgears also can be used to inhibit vertical jaw growth, which results in bite opening in the front.

Difficulties with headgear relate to discomfort and/or unwillingness of the patient to wear it consistently. Factors most often cited include awkward appearance and too busy a schedule to allow the required number of hours of wear required. Tooth movement with headgear is not proportional to the number of hours worn and will not occur at all without 12-14 hours of wear per day. We still do use headgears in appropriate situations if patients are willing to cooperate. Check out some of the great headgear alternatives such as the MARA, Herbst, or Forsus appliances. Take a look at a Headgear case.