Our Patients In Active Treatment
Headgear Use and Wear
Your headgear is an extremely important part of your treatment. The more you wear your headgear as your orthodontist instructs, the sooner its use can be discontinued as part of your treatment.
Headgear can be used to accomplish a number of goals. Most often the headgear is meant to move your two upper teeth or to prevent the molar teeth from moving. It is important that the headgear be worn as we prescribe.
At the start of headgear wearing, your upper molar teeth will become sore. Don't worry and don't stop wearing the headgear; this initial soreness will disappear after about a week of faithful headgear use.
You won't start using the headgear the day that your braces are placed. Starting the day after the braces are put on, you will wear the headgear 1 to 2 hours. The day after, you will wear the headgear for 2 to 4 hours, and so on, increasing headgear wear at 2 hour intervals, until you are wearing the headgear for the required number of hours. This process takes about one to one and a half weeks.
Each day you will keep a record of your progress on the Headgear Chart in your kit. You do not have to complete your entire prescribed amount of hours all at once; you can wear the headgear for smaller blocks of time as long as you reach the prescribed number of hours by the end of the day. Do not skip a day. You must wear the headgear for the required number of hours everyday or the headgear will not do its job properly. A loss of even one day of headgear wear can mean the loss of a whole week of tooth movement and can cause a delay in your treatment.
Warning
The headgear can be dangerous if it is used improperly. If the facebow (the metal part) is pulled from the mouth without disconnecting the neck or head strap, the facebow could snap back and serious injury could result.
DO NOT adjust or attempt to adjust the tension on the head or neck strap and do not attempt to bend the facebow. Only your orthodontist can properly adjust your headgear. If you bend the wire or adjust the tension the headgear will not work properly and may cause you injury.
DO NOT put on or remove the facebow while it is attached to the neck or head strap. Do not allow other people to pull on, play with, or snap the facebow or neck/head strap while you are wearing your headgear. Do not wear the headgear while participating in any sporting activity (including playing around your house) unless you receive specific permission from your orthodontist. Serious injury to your teeth, gums, tongue, lips, face or eyes may result from improper use of headgear.
Remember to always bring your headgear and your headgear chart to your appointments. We need to check to be sure that the headgear is being worn properly and that it fits correctly.