What is a Herbst Appliance and How Does It Work?
Correcting overbites when children are growing prevents jaw surgery as an adult.
Has your Orthodontist recommended a Herbst as part of your child’s treatment plan?
Learn about how Herbst appliances can correct severe overbites while children are still growing.
What is a Herbst?
A Herbst appliance uses growth to correct severe overbites when lower jaws are deficient; set back. This is also known as having a retrognathic lower jaw.
This orthodontic appliance holds the lower jaw forward in an ideal position for 12 months during a child’s growth spurt, allowing the jaw to grow into the new position.
When the appliance is removed, the lower jaw no longer falls back. Having jaws in a natural, forward position opens up airways for better breathing.
When is the ideal time to use a Herbst appliance?
Herbst appliances correct skeletal overbites in growing children. The ideal timing for this appliance is when children are entering their growth spurt.
How do you know when a growth spurt is starting? Orthodontists can tell when a patient is entering their growth spurt using Hand-Wrist growth x-rays.
Adults who are retrognathic often suffer with breathing issues such as sleep apnea and snoring. This can increase with age and weight gain. So, correcting this type of skeletal discrepancy in growing children is beneficial.
Herbst appliances allow patients to talk and chew normally. The appliance is customized for each patient.
Hand-Wrist growth x-rays help Orthodontists determine timing for treatment.
Wearing a Herbst appliance during your Smile Journey
Herbst appliances are customized for each individual patient and takes several appointments to create a custom fit.
It takes most patients from a few days up to a full week to adjust to wearing a Herbst appliance. After the initial adjustment period, patients find it comfortable to wear.
After wearing the Herbst appliance along with partial braces during the first 12 months of treatment, the Herbst appliance is removed and the remaining orthodontic braces are placed. Most patients who wear Herbst appliances have treatment times ranging from 21-24 months in total.