Bringing Upper Front Teeth Down with Braces & Elastics?

Question

My upper teeth show very little when I smile, and my lower teeth are mostly visible. How many mm can upper teeth potentially be brought down with traditional braces? Is it possible to get gums to follow, or would that only elongate teeth and make them look longer? If you wear elastics in a triangle hooked on one bracket on upper and two on lower jaw, does that bring the upper teeth more down or the lower more up? I would like my upper teeth brought down without bringing my lower teeth up. Thanks

Robert Waxler, DMD, MS · Answer

The big question is....do your front teeth touch now?  If so, how can you bring the upper front teeth down any further?.

	Usually patients who show very little upper front teeth have a deficient upper jaw structure....only surgery to drop the upper jaw down vertically can make any significant improvement unless the patient also has an anterior open bite in which case the upper front teeth can be pulled down

Bringing Upper Front Teeth Down with Braces & Elastics?

Answers (1)