Mode d'action of Functional Appliances

The premise of functional therapy is based on the hypothesis that most malocclusions result from imbalance of the neuromuscular housing of the oral cavity. The theoretical basis of functional treatment in general is the principle that ‘new pattern of function’ detected by the appliance leads to the development of a correspondingly ‘new morphological pattern’. Hence it is unique among the many modes of orthodontic treatment. Although research studies have questioned efficacy of functional appliance treatment their clinical performance has been the reason for the continued and expanding popularity in developing class II malocclusions.