It can be difficult if your teeth don’t look like everyone else’s or you think they don’t. No matter how beautiful we may think your smile is, it won’t matter if you’re not comfortable with your teeth. One condition that often causes people to be self-conscious about their teeth is an open bite.
What Is an Open Bite?
In general, when dentists and orthodontists talk about an open bite, they’re discussing an anterior open bite. People who have this kind of open bite have front upper and lower teeth that typically slant outward. Because the teeth slant outward, they don’t touch when a person with this kind of bite closes his or her mouth.
Open bites are a kind of malocclusion. This means people with open bites don’t have teeth that align properly when they close their jaws.
Primary Causes of Open Bites
While open bites can be caused by other things, there are four primary causes behind the condition. These causes include sucking on a thumb, pacifier or another foreign object, tongue thrusting, a joint disorder and a skeletal problem.
Sucking on a Thumb, Pacifier or Another Foreign Object
When a person sucks on their thumb, a pacifier or another object, it has the potential to strain the alignment of their teeth. This repeated strain can result in an open bite.
Tongue Thrusting
In the context of an open bite, tongue thrusting is when a person pushes their tongue between their upper and lower front teeth when they talk or swallow. Doing this often enough can cause an open bite and it can also create openings between the individual’s teeth.
Joint Disorders
A temporomandibular joint disorder commonly referred to as “TMD” or “TMJ” can cause a person to experience chronic jaw pain. In order to alleviate their discomfort, people with this disorder will sometimes employ their tongue to reposition their jaw by pushing their teeth apart. This kind of behavior can yield an open bite over time.
Skeletal Problem
If a skeletal problem is the cause of an open bite, the issue is often related to or at least influenced by genetics. A skeletal problem may cause your jaws to grow apart instead of growing parallel to one another. If that happens, an open bite may be the result.
Invisalign Treatment for Open Bites
Luckily, you needn’t suffer in silence if you have an open bite that makes you uncomfortable. You can seek out Invisalign treatment for your open bite instead.
With Invisalign, your doctor will create a custom treatment plan for you. You’ll receive new Invisalign clear aligners every one to two weeks, which you’ll wear for 20 – 22 hours per day. Your Invisalign aligners will gently shift your teeth into proper position over time, correcting your open bite in the process.
Invisalign treatment often takes 12 – 18 months. Since every Invisalign treatment plan is custom-made, total treatment times will vary between patients as well as providers.
You’ve Found Your Invisalign Orthodontist at Clearsmile Orthodontics
If you’re ready to find a doctor who has the skills and experience to correct your open bite, your search will start and end with Dr. Colin Webb. Dr. Webb is committed to making people happy with their smile because he knows firsthand how life-changing a great smile can be – he sees the benefits of his work all the time!
We know it can be intimidating to establish a relationship with a new health care provider. That’s why we’ve compiled an explanation of everything you can expect when you visit Clearsmile Orthodontics throughout your Invisalign treatment.
Now that you know what you’re getting into, contact Clearsmile Orthodontics today so we can correct your open bite, improve your smile and change your life for the better.