Bad Breath: You Don't Have to Live with It

To be told you have an open bite sounds like a contradiction. It's impossible to bite without opening your jaws, so aren't all bites open bites? It's in fact a dental term. In orthodontics, an open bite is when your upper and lower teeth have erupted at an angle, meaning they don't properly connect with the opposing dental arch when your mouth is closed. Essentially, your bite is always open. Does this mean you're going to need braces to change that open bite into a closed bite?

Once Upon a Time

Traditional braces and other orthodontic appliances can be used to correct an open bite, and once upon a time, they were the only viable option. Invisalign has been available to American consumers since 1999, and the method has been streamlined and generally improved in the subsequent decades. These invisible braces offer a far more comfortable (and far less intrusive) way to correct an open bite, but its effectiveness depends on the nature of your open bite. 

An Anterior Open Bite

If your open bite primarily affects your anterior teeth (the teeth towards the front of your mouth), then Invisalign can offer effective treatment. Patients whose open bite has also caused a slanting and general overlapping of their posterior teeth (at the rear of their mouth) may still need traditional braces or another appropriate orthodontic appliance. But when it's primarily your anterior teeth that are affected by your open bite, Invisalign can be an efficient solution.

Invisalign Treatment for an Open Bite

The transparent thermoplastic trays slot over your teeth—so you'll wear two trays at a time (one for your upper set of teeth, and one for your lower). Each tray is customized for your dental arch and applies gentle pressure to reposition the teeth in the target area. An individual tray will move teeth up to .33 millimeters (which is roughly .013 inches). It's then replaced by the next tray in the series, and so on throughout the duration of your treatment, until the slanting of your anterior teeth has been eliminated, thus eliminating your open bite.

Remember that not all open bites can be treated with clear aligners, and the nature of your open bite, along with its severity will determine the best treatment option. But when your open bite isn't all that extreme and principally affects your anterior teeth, then Invisalign can help to close your open bite. 

Contact a dentist for more information about Invisalign.