Deep Bite or Deep Overbite

Concern:

This young lady presented concerned about the ‘crowding’ of her upper and lower front teeth.

Examination showed her upper front teeth covered nearly the entire length of her lower front teeth [deep overbite].  Her upper front teeth leaned inwards. The biting edges of her lower front teeth were beginning to wear.  Her lower front teeth appeared more crowded than her upper front teeth.  Functionally and cosmetically her bite would be improved by correcting the alignment and poor relations of her front teeth.

Treatment Performed:

A non-extraction [without removal of teeth] treatment approach using braces applied to both her upper and lower teeth was recommended and accepted. An estimate of 21 – 24 months for treatment was provided. Elastic band wear would be required to assist with correcting the excessive vertical overlap of her upper and lower front teeth.

Result:

Deep [over] bites can be related to excessive wear of the teeth [loss of tooth structure including the hard outer protective enamel coating and softer internal dentine], loose or mobile teeth, trauma to the soft tissues [bite marks/indentations in the gums or stripping away of the gums from the teeth], pain in the jaw joints, sore jaw muscles and abnormal jaw joint function [clicking, grating, limitation of mouth opening]. The normal relationship of the upper and lower front teeth [incisors]  is one in which the front teeth are well aligned and lean forward slightly, the upper front teeth sit about 1-2 mm forward of the lower front teeth and the upper and lower front teeth overlap about 1-2 mm [CI or ‘Class 1 incisal relationship’].

Treatment was completed over a period of 18 months. Elastics were worn for the entire duration of treatment. Patient co-operation with treatment was excellent.  All scheduled appointments were attended and no breakages occurred. Retention was by means of an upper removable retainer and lower fixed retainer.

The outcome of treatment is an improved cosmetic result and importantly a well functioning set of teeth.