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An open bite, where the upper and lower front teeth do not touch when your back teeth are closed together, is one of the trickier bite issues to correct, and whether clear aligners can fix it depends heavily on what is causing it in the first place.
What an Open Bite Actually Is
An open bite means that when you bite down normally, there is a visible gap between your upper and lower front teeth rather than them meeting or slightly overlapping. It can affect just the front teeth, known as anterior open bite, or in rarer cases, the back teeth. It can make biting into food like an apple or a sandwich noticeably harder, and often affects speech, particularly certain sounds.
What Causes It
Open bite has a few common causes. Prolonged thumb sucking or dummy use in childhood is one of the most frequent, since sustained pressure over years can affect how the front teeth and jaw develop. Tongue thrusting, where the tongue pushes against the front teeth during swallowing or at rest, is another common contributor, and one that can undermine treatment if it is not addressed alongside tooth movement. Skeletal factors, meaning the jaw bones themselves grew in a way that creates the gap, are a third cause, and this type is generally more complex to treat than a purely dental open bite.
Can Clear Aligners Fix It?
For mild, purely dental open bite, clear aligners can be effective, working to gradually bring the front teeth into contact through carefully planned tooth movement. Cases caused by an ongoing tongue thrust habit are more complicated, because the habit itself can continue to work against the treatment even as the aligners move the teeth, sometimes causing relapse after treatment if the underlying habit is not addressed.
Skeletal open bite, where the jaw bones themselves are the source of the gap, is generally not something clear aligners alone can resolve, since aligners move teeth rather than change jaw bone position.
When Aligners Alone Aren't Enough
If assessment shows your open bite has a significant skeletal component, or is being actively driven by an unaddressed tongue thrust or habit, you may be advised that aligners alone won't achieve a stable result, and referred for a more comprehensive evaluation. This is not a failure of the aligner process, it is the clinical assessment doing exactly what it is meant to do: matching you to a treatment that can actually deliver a lasting result rather than one that looks promising short-term and relapses later.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will my open bite come back after treatment?
This depends heavily on the underlying cause. If a tongue thrust or habit contributed to the open bite and isn't addressed, relapse is more likely. This is why proper assessment before treatment matters.
How do I know if my open bite is dental or skeletal?
This requires a clinical assessment. A dental professional can evaluate whether the gap is primarily due to tooth position or underlying jaw structure.
Does an open bite need to be fixed?
Beyond appearance, open bite can affect chewing efficiency and speech for some people. Whether treatment is necessary depends on the severity and impact on your individual case, which is worth discussing with a dental professional.
Can adults get open bite treated, or is it only for children?
Adults can absolutely have open bite treated. It's not exclusively a childhood issue, though the underlying cause and appropriate treatment approach may differ from a child's case.
Find Out If You're a Good Candidate
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