teeth wear

Open bites can be a real hassle. Not only can they make your smile look strange, but they can also lead to serious dental problems. Braces, bite blocks and headgear used to be your only option for treating dental open bites. But nowadays, we have a much more discreet and much less invasive way to fix open bites: Invisalign. Today, we’re going to discuss how Invisalign may be able to fix your open bite without braces or surgery.

What’s Wrong with Having an Open Bite?

If some of your teeth can’t make contact with the teeth directly below or above them, then you may have an open bite. Open bites can be caused by skeletal or dental issues. If you have a mild case of open bite, you might not need to make any changes to your mouth at all! But more serious open bites can cause long term issues.
Since open bites can create a gaping gap between your bottom and top teeth, it causes many people to be self-conscious of their smile. Open bites can also lead to dental issues down the line, including premature teeth wear, gum disease, speech problems, asymmetrical jaw development, and problems with chewing and biting. It can also lead to more severe issues, like TMJ, a painful jaw disorder.

Can Invisalign Correct an Open Bite?

Invisalign can help with certain cases of open bite. Since open bites are one of the most difficult dental issues to correct and they can vary drastically from person to person, you will need to visit a dentist to find out if Invisalign can help you. That being said, Invisalign has been used to effectively close open bites in many patients. You can see a few before and after pictures of patients who treated their open bite with Invisalign here.

How Exactly Does Invisalign Help?

The Invisalign treatment uses the latest technology to upgrade the open bite treatment. At Water Tower Dental Care, Dr. Aneszko and Dr. Stino first use a 3D scanner to outline the steps of your treatment from start to finish. They create a customized set of clear, acrylic and virtually invisible aligners based on your individual smile. You’ll wear these Invisalign aligners for 22 hours a day.
The Invisalign aligners will gently push your teeth into the correct position over time. If you have a more serious open bite case, you may need to use rubber bands in conjunction with your Invisalign aligners. We’ll check on your progress and replace your aligner with a new one to wear about every two weeks.

Benefits of Using Invisalign to Fix an Open Bite

You may be wondering why you should use Invisalign instead of traditional braces for correcting your open bite. Since Invisalign is a new treatment that uses advanced technology, there are a variety of benefits you will get from using Invisalign instead of braces.

• Invisalign clear aligners are virtually invisible.
• The aligners are comfortable and easy to wear.
• They are removable, allowing you to easily take them off and put them in whenever you want. This, and the fact that they are BPA-free, makes Invisalign aligners extremely easy to keep clean.
• You don’t have any food restrictions, since you can take the aligners out for a short period of time.
• Treatment time is on par with traditional, metal braces (about 12 months for most patients).

What better place to receive Invisalign treatment for your open bite than at Chicago’s number one dentistry? If you’re interested in learning more about whether Invisalign can help your specific open bite, don’t hesitate to contact us today!