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An open bite is a bite issue where the upper and lower front teeth do not meet when the mouth is closed. It is one of the more challenging orthodontic problems to treat, but clear aligners have become increasingly effective for many cases. Here is what to know.
What Is an Open Bite?
An open bite is characterised by a gap between the upper and lower teeth when the back teeth are together. In most cases this affects the front teeth, which is called an anterior open bite. The back teeth contact normally but the front teeth do not meet, leaving a visible opening.
Open bites affect both function and appearance. Biting into food requires the front teeth to make contact, so people with open bites often need to position food further back in the mouth or use their tongue to assist with eating. Speech can also be affected, particularly with sounds that require the tongue to contact the upper front teeth.
What Causes an Open Bite?
Open bites can have dental or skeletal causes. Dental open bites are often associated with habits such as prolonged thumb sucking, tongue thrusting, or extended pacifier use in childhood, which gradually push the front teeth out of alignment. Skeletal open bites are associated with a jaw structure where the back of the jaw grows downward more than the front, creating a natural rotation that opens the front bite.
Understanding the cause is important because it affects both what treatment can achieve and whether the result is stable long-term.
Can Clear Aligners Fix an Open Bite?
Clear aligners are particularly well suited to a specific type of tooth movement called intrusion, which means pressing a tooth downward into the gum. This makes them effective for addressing open bites by intruding the back teeth, which allows the front teeth to close together more naturally.
Mild to moderate anterior open bites are often excellent candidates for aligner treatment. Modern clear aligner systems have become significantly more capable of open bite correction than earlier generations of aligner technology, and results in this area have improved considerably.
Severe open bites with a significant skeletal component may require orthognathic surgery in addition to aligner or orthodontic treatment for a comprehensive correction.
Addressing the Underlying Cause
For open bites associated with tongue thrust habits, treatment alone is often not sufficient for a stable long-term result. The tongue continues to apply forward pressure to the teeth after treatment, which can cause the bite to reopen. Speech therapy and myofunctional therapy, which addresses the underlying muscle and swallowing patterns, can be important parts of achieving a lasting result.
The Jawology clinical team will assess your case and advise whether any additional support is recommended alongside aligner treatment.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can clear aligners close an open bite?
Yes, in many cases. Clear aligners are effective at intruding back teeth, which allows the front teeth to close together. Mild to moderate anterior open bites are often well suited to aligner treatment. Severe cases with a skeletal cause may require additional intervention.
Why is an open bite hard to fix?
Open bites can be challenging because they sometimes have an underlying skeletal or habitual cause that continues to work against the correction. Skeletal open bites may need surgical correction in severe cases, and open bites related to tongue thrust habits need the habit to be addressed for the result to remain stable.
Will my open bite come back after treatment?
Open bites carry a higher relapse risk than some other bite issues, particularly if an underlying tongue thrust habit is not addressed. Consistent retainer wear after treatment is essential, and myofunctional therapy may be recommended to reduce relapse risk.
How do I know if my open bite is suitable for aligner treatment?
A clinical assessment is needed to determine this. The Jawology team will evaluate the severity of your open bite, whether it has a dental or skeletal cause, and what treatment pathway will give the most stable and effective result for your specific situation.
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