Standard edgewise technique and its relevance in contemporary fixed appliance therapy part 3: overbite control and space closure

Overbite control has always been problematical in the edgewise technique. The Begg technique¹ has a reputation for opening deep bites and reducing big overjets quite rapidly, especially in the early stages of treatment, but at the expense of a final finish that often cannot match that achieved in edgewise appliances. With the development of the Tip-Edge appliance, which incorporates the Begg technique in its early stages and straight-wire in later stages, this problem has now been overcome.

Bite opening in the edgewise appliance can be achieved by placing a reverse curve of Spee in the lower archwire (or a positive curve of Spee in the upper). By including the second molars in the archwire, anchorage for bite opening is increased. However, unwanted effects include proclination of the lower labial segment (Figure 1) and many attempts to counteract this have been tried in the past, for example, tiebacks to the canines, placing buccal root torque in the lower labial segment, J-hook headgear to the lower labial segment, and using intrusion bends with loops to the lower labial segment.