CLINICAL APPLICATION OF MODIFIED FR-4

Song, Jae-Hyuk; Lee, Keung-Ho; Choi, Yeong-Chul

Journal of the Korean Academy of Pediatric Dentistry 2001;28(2):323-328.
Published online May 31, 2001.

CLINICAL APPLICATION OF MODIFIED FR-4

Jae-Hyuk Song, Keung-Ho Lee, Yeong-Chul Choi

Department. of Pediatric Dentistry, College of Dentistry, Kyung Hee University

Modified FR-4의 임상적용례

송재혁, 이긍호, 최영철

경희대학교 치과대학 소아치과학교실

Abstract

Anterior open bite is one in which the teeth in the anterior portion of the maxilla and mandible are vertically apart and lack the overlapping necessary for the incisive function when the mandible is in closed position. Anterior open bite is a result of the interaction of many different etiologic factors including thumb and finger sucking, lip and tongue habits, airway obstruction, skeletal growth abnormalities and its tendency may appear with any type of skeletal patterns, such as Class I, II or III malocclusion types. Though the treatment methods for anterior open bite are various, the conventional FR-4, designed by Rolf Frankel, is known to be effective in treating open bite cases with Class I or II skeletal patterns. It is due to that an incidence of skeletal Class II is high in the Occidentals, and open bite is accompanied by these malocclusion type in many cases. However, an incidence of skeletal Class III is high in the Orientals, and open bite is sometimes accompanied by skeletal Class III in many cases. Although the use of the conventional FR-4 was effective in the treatment of open bite, skeletal Class III would be worsened. So, a modified FR-4(placing the labial bow in the lower, the labial pads in the upper) was designed for the treatment of patients showing skeletal Class III and open bite.

Key Words: Anterior open bite, Conventional FR-4, Modified FR-4, Skeletal Class Ⅲ malocclusion