Hello, Dr. Dayanayev here from Steinway Family Dental Center. We got a lot of different questions about overbite. Today, we're going to shed some light on some of the most common questions about this subject.
What is an overbite and how is it different from a normal bite?
The overbite is basically when your upper teeth and lower teeth cross each other, and you cannot see your lower teeth at all when you smile because the upper teeth are covering them either completely or too much. Those people who smile, and you can only see the top teeth, not the bottom. If you look at your bite, you can see that your lower teeth are covered by the upper teeth; that is an overbite. It could be a lot or a little. A little overbite is actually what would be considered to be the standard, a norm. You want your upper teeth to go a little bit over your lower teeth, but just a little bit, not a lot. The normal size would be between 1 to 3 mm, or just the edges of the teeth should be covered, so we don't want it to be open too much or closed too much.
What is the difference between overbite and an overjet?
You already know what an overbite is, right? That's when the upper teeth are going too far down and covering the lower teeth. But overjet is about how far the upper teeth are from the lower teeth—whether they are all the way in front of it and there's a big gap between the upper and the lower teeth, or there is very little space. That is what's called overjet.
How does an overbite compare to an underbite?
Overbite is when your upper teeth are over your lower teeth, and the underbite is when your lower teeth are over the upper teeth. It depends on what's closer to the outside of your mouth when you smile—whether it is the lower teeth or the upper teeth. When it's upper, it's an overbite; when it's lower, it's an underbite.
How are overbite and underbite treated differently?
With an overbite, you would want those teeth to be intruded back into the bone where they belong. With an underbite, you would want them to be corrected by moving them under.
How does an overbite affect the smile and the side profile?
When you're looking at the side of someone, you can see it's basically when the upper teeth are just over the lower teeth too much, so you don't see the lower teeth at all, and that is too much of an overbite. Normally, we should have some overbite.
What are the causes of overbite and can it get worse over time?
If the teeth are not touching correctly, over time, based on gravity, the upper teeth will continue to grow down because there's nothing stopping them, and of course, it can get worse. Also, the lower teeth could be too high, and they could be biting into the gum into the palate behind the upper teeth, which could be traumatic. This is why we usually correct it.
What is considered to be severe overbite and how does it affect overall health?
If you cannot eat your food because there's too much overbite and your lower teeth are digging into your palate every time you close your mouth, then of course that affects your overall health because you're not going to be eating nutritious food as it bothers you when you chew. This is an extreme condition we're talking about; most people would not notice that there is an overbite because it doesn't really hurt them. Yes, their smile could be better, but it doesn't hurt; they don't have pain from that.
How can overbite be corrected and what treatment options are available?
The treatment could range from surgical treatment all the way to just getting Invisalign treatment, which works very well. It is practically painless. Yes, you do have some discomfort with Invisalign, but the teeth could be simply placed in the right place by using Invisalign, which is a clear aligner.
What are the risks of leaving severe overbite untreated?
If your bite is incorrect, the teeth eventually will come out of the sockets; they will grow down too far because there's nothing stopping them, and you would lose them. That's the extent of it, and I don't think you would want to lose your teeth, so please correct it.
Can Invisalign fix an overbite, or are braces required?
I believe that Invisalign is a better choice in this matter. First of all, it is faster. Second, it is easier to be used because you have something covering your teeth, pushing them in, rather than using braces that are on the side of it. I think the forces align much better with Invisalign.
How long does it take to fix an overbite with braces or Invisalign?
With braces, it takes a lot longer because the control level is simply not there. With Invisalign, it is much faster and better for the correction of an overbite. It could be done with both, but I would prefer Invisalign because it's simply faster. How long will it take? Braces would take about 2 years, and Invisalign would take regularly about 10 months or so. You can also get it accelerated, and with acceleration, about 2 to 3 months, and you'll be done.
Are there natural remedies to fix an overbite?
The answer is no. You cannot really brush your teeth from being in a certain position into a different position or just push them in with something; it simply doesn't work. You do need professional help to fix that.
When is overbite surgery necessary and what is involved?
It is a surgical procedure. What's involved is, of course, you're going to have braces, and the mouth is going to be wired shut. The jaw bone would be sectioned and moved into the correct position and then held in place for a few weeks, 3 to 6 weeks, sometimes 8 weeks, and only after that could you be free, but you would still be using braces for a little while.
What does an overbite look like typically at the end of the treatment?
You're supposed to have some overbite, and this is absolutely normal to have. After the treatment, that's what it would look like—it would look normal. When the teeth are overlapping too much, you have all kinds of problems. This could be related to gum disease, traumatic occlusion when you're biting into the wrong spots, and also could lead to you cracking the enamel or destroying it. When you move the teeth and put them in the right position, they are much better protected so the teeth can slide off each other, not bang into each other. You cannot really bang into your palate with those because of the deep overbite. All of this could be corrected, and it could be relatively painless.
Those are pretty much the questions that we got on this subject. As we receive more questions, we're going to put the answers to them some more. If you have any additional questions, you can come and visit us, and we can discuss it in person. You can shoot us an email or go to our website on alldentalneeds.com and request an appointment with me, or you can give us a call at (718) 728-3314, and we can discuss these things in person. You can ask all the questions you want.