The headgear appliance has been used in Orthodontics since the last century. From the first headgear appliances a number of modifications were done, but the patient cooperation factor remained unchanged. Poor patient cooperation can influence the final result of the orthodontic treatment, as well as lengthen the duration of treatment. The efficacy of headgear anchorage appliances has been scientifically proven. One of the principal uses of the headgear appliance is for growth modification.
Patient compliance is the most common problem encountered when utilizing headgear appliance therapy.
In addition, it is very difficult to evaluate patient cooperation. Today, in addition to the subjective methods, we can use objective methods to measure the level of patient cooperation with the use of headgear appliances. Northcut 5 tried a headgear timer that was made of a miniature electronic watch with a memory circuit. According to the author, the patients increased the number of hours of use of their headgears when they were informed that they had been monitored. The number of hours of use increased from 35-50 hours per week to 100 hours per week.