Orthodontics provided by Dr Peter Vaughan, specialist orthodontist, and surgery provided by Dr Paul Coceancig, specialist oral & maxillofacial surgeon.

This 15 year old, but skeletally well developed female, had a long lower jaw, which had caused her lower anteriors to be forward of her upper anterior teeth. Classically treated only with orthognathic jaw correction surgery, traction screws were instead employed to "pull-back" the entire lower arch to help approximate a normal Class I occlusion. In this way she avoided major orthognathic corrective surgery.

X-ray shows before and after appearance following traction screw repositioning of lower teeth. Traction screws are relatively simple, and painless methods of correcting entire arches of teeth, and offer a potential alternative to orthognathic surgical jaw correction for improper bite relationships.

Traction screws are placed behind the second molar teeth and provide constant elastic traction across all teeth to gradually shift them bodily backwards. Before and after photos show inability of the front teeth to meet due to a CLASS III incisor relationship, compared to post-treatment appearance.

Gradual movement of entire lower arch of teeth has been achieved with general traction pin traction, utilising the screws placed on either side of the mandibular ramus.

Final profile of incisor relationship showing beautiful uprighting of incisors, with normal Class I relationship. Normal incisor relationship should see the lwoer anterior teeth behind the upper anterior teeth, and which has been achieved with a pull back of the entire lower arch of teeth. The aim of orthodontics is to achieve not just straight teeth, but teeth that are functional and within a face that is proportional. Traction screw fixation to provide traction points for orthodontic forces are a revolution in orthodontics. Orthodontic traction pins are subsidised procedures under Medicare (when provided by specialist oral & maxillofacial surgeons) and take ~ 10 minutes to insert under local anaesthesia, and about 2 minutes to remove.

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