An Orthopedic Approach to the Treatment of Class III Malocclusion in Young Patients.

Most orthodontists are familiar with the difficulties associated with the treatment of Class III malocclusion, particularly when this condition is identified in patients in the late deciduous or early mixed dentition period. Such patients frequently present with maxillary skeletal retrusion, mandibular skeletal protrusion, or some combination of the two conditions. These patients also often exhibit maxillary constriction that is manifested as an anterior and/or posterior crossbite. Petit describes such patients as having a "prognathic syndrome" in which the underlying skeletal elements may be out of balance in all three planes of space.