Correcting Very Large Overbite in Adults?

Question

Hello sir. I am Farhan from bangladesh and I used to have a 13mm overbite in my upper jaw. I was 20 years old when I first visited an orthodontist and had two premolars removed and got braces. Now two years later I am done with my braces but I still have a 7mm overbite and my teeths aren't even straight yet. 1) Is it at all possible that I might have ended up with better looking teeth if I started my treatment sooner 2) Can jaw surgery make my face and teeth look completely normal

Kent Lauson, DDS, MS · Answer

Huge Overbites Cures can be tricky even for seasoned orthodontists! A brief explanation on how a big overbite happens in the first place is in order. When the developing child's front teeth come in, because the middle of the face develops ahead of the lower jaw, the upper front teeth can 'trap' the lower jaw, not only restricting it's growth, but causing that growth to occur in the back area of the jaw (condyle) which then can result in the jaw joint (TMJ) to go out of alignment. For a child it is important to 'free up' this 'trapping' of the jaw so that normal downward and forward growth of the lower jaw can occur. Without a correction many bad things such as TMJ Dysfunction, Obstructive Sleep Apnea and even neck and back problems can occur in the future. For an adult with this problem, the solution, presented by orthodontic specialists, many times ignores the reality of TMJ misalignment as being a significant part of the problem. Then, radical solutions such as a lower jaw surgery seem like the only option, when in fact, a non-surgical correction of the lower jaw alignment first may take care of the majority of the jaw misalignment problem. The rest of the problem can then be resolved with braces or Invisalign. Of course without the TMJ being corrected, the surgical approach just leads to a lot of future pain. The principles of what I am writing about are thoroughly explained in my book "Straight Talk about Crooked Teeth" available at Amazon or Barns & Noble. I hope this has been helpful.

Robert Waxler, DMD, MS · Answer

I can't help but respond to this after reading the comment from Dr. Kent Lausen.  I challenge him to defend his statement that large overbites are caused by the upper teeth trapping the lower jaw and restricting its growth.  I know of no good scientific studies that support this view and I would venture to bet that the vast majority of orthodontist do not support this view.

	Large overbites are caused by a combination of a poor skeletal pattern and poor tooth position.  Sometimes surgery is needed to correct the problem...end of story

Correcting Very Large Overbite in Adults?

Answers (2)