6MM overjet....will this look ok?

[Astroboy]

**Posted this in the invisalign section as well**

First off, sorry for the long post! I am just wondering if I could have everyone’s general opinion here. I recently went to the Orthodontist, who was recommended by my dentist. My bottom teeth are straight, but my top are crooked – 2 front teeth go back a bit, and “eyeâ€

[Lisa65]

I started my treatment with 8mm of overjet, and at the moment I think it's actually bigger than that, because as my front teeth have straightened up they have flared outwards. Yet from the front it isn't all that apparent. It's only if you look at my profile that it becomes obvious that my front teeth stick out a lot more than the bottom ones. Most people do not show a lot of their bottom teeth when talking and laughing, so having your top teeth looking straight will probably make a lot of difference to your confidence, even if you still have an overjet.

You don't mention extractions at all. Did your orthodontist not mention that as a possible way of reducing the overjet without having jaw surgery?

[platinum]

I have 6 mm overjet, too. I was told the same story with jaw surgery etc.
I have deepbite also (my uppers covers lowers fully). I went the braces route. My deepbite will be corrected and my overjet somewhat. For me it is ok, because my overjet does not bother me. It was deepbite that caused me problems. I had to take lower metal braces in order to correct deepbite. I will get ceramic uppers, but I can switch to Invisaling later into my treatment.

I did not even consider jaw surgery, too drastic for my taste. My teeth were quite straight to start with. I would have been happy with my teeth, and I would have not taken braces if I would not have had problems because of my deepbite ( teeth and facial pain).

[bracey]

I have the exact same situation as you! I'm 27 and like you my bottoms are straight but my top were misaligned, and to get everything perfect I would need surgery on lower jaw to bring it forward. so I got braced on the top but it will also leave me with an overbite.

the braces have not been on too long but already my top teeth have straightened out signifigantly, and even though I know there is an overbite now I really dont think anyone else can tell( unless they are teeth obsessed!like me at the moment) Anyway Im hoping that the end result wont be too over my bottoms, but I'll just have to wait and see, the ortho mentioned teeth slenderising to gain a few millimetres,

[momof2grlz]

I just finished active treatment last week. I started with a 10 mm overjet and a deep bite. When I started treatment, my teeth were all pretty straight, but my bite was terrible. I didn't want to have lower jaw surgery, but did agree to have two upper first molars extracted to make room to reduce the overjet. Invisalign wasn't an option for me because of my bite issues.

I was hoping for 75 - 80 percent correction. Well . . . after 30 months of treatment, my ortho was thrilled that he achieved almost 100% correction of the overjet.

30 months was a long time to be in braces, but it was the best 30 months I could have spent on myself.

Chris

[acehigh]

Hello! I also have a 6 mm overjet and slight overbite. I tried twice to convince the ortho about Invisalign, but he told me the results would not be satisfactory. My teeth were quite straight to begin with, but my bite was off (overjet), which was causing some jaw pain on one side. I went with the Inovation C, and I can understand now why the Invisalign was not an option for me. It's been almost 5 months and I notice a huge difference! I was extremely uptight about the look of the braces. You actually get used to it, believe it or not. From the day these were put on, the jaw pain actually disappeared. Your teeth and bite are being forced into proper position. Bottom braces were needed in my case to help align and correct my bite. I'm glad I listened to the ortho.

[Graceful58]

Hi,

I also have an overjet and was told the same thing as you....20 years ago. I was in my early 20's when I decided to get braces and they told me to correct my overjet I'd need surgery. I couldn't afford surgery then so I was happy to just get my teeth straightened. I'm now 46 and starting all over again...the reason being my teeth shifted and my jaws been bothering me because of the overjet and my teeth not aligning properly. I have clicking in my jaw and deal with quite a few headaches over the years.

It really is a personal preference...when I was in my 20's having straight teeth was the most important thing for me. Now, I'm wishing that I had done the surgery then because I wouldn't be dealing with some of the things I'm dealing with now at the age of 46. I've just started my journey which will eventually take me to upper and lower surgery to move my jaw forward. It will probably be a three year deal but I know it will be worth it. I have a teenage son who is just about ready to get out of his braces...go figure, right?!?!

Just some food for thought...I wish you all the best in whatever decision you go with, just make sure that you're thinking long term and by not having your bite line up the way it should there's always chances you'll have problems down the road because of it.

[Astroboy]

Thanks for the posts everyone, and for your words of encouragement. I am also impressed that the ortho was nice enough to give me a variety of options. The other ortho's I went to see told me I HAD to have jaw surgery and braces, and didn't give me the option to straighten just the top teeth.

I am now on aligner 15/23. Almost there! To be honest, the biggest change I see is on my two front teeth - they have been pushed out a considerable amount, with the teeth on either side (eye teeth?) not moving a whole lot yet......I think these will be pushed over and into place in the last few months. The ortho advised he would be filing down the two front teeth as they now look a lot longer than they did before as previously they were pushed back a bit....so I look kind of buck toothed, but it is not so bad.

I am not sure on if the front teeth will be pushed out much more and will increase the overjet? So far I am happy as long as the two front teeth don't go out too much further....hard to estimate how big the overjet is at this point, but I would guess about 4mm at least. The ortho admitted it probably wouldn't be worth the time or money for me to have jaw surgery AND braces at the end of this just to correct the overjet. He seemed confident that I would be satisfied with the end result, even though he said the end result would be less than "ideal". I think all orthos are perfectionists though!

My overall thoughts on the invisalign treatment are positive. My aligners are really noticeable compared to some other cases simply because I have the bumps on 6 of my top front teeth. Still a lot less noticeable than braces. I did have a few friends ask me what was on my teeth. As an experiment I didn't mention I was getting this treatment to most people I know (including co-workers) just to see if anyone would notice or say anything. Perhaps a lot of people have noticed and just not said anything....not sure, but not one of my co-workers has mentioned anything yet 8 months into it...maybe just to be polite? I am sure thought that a lot of them didn't even notice. Part of this is because I still don’t really don't smile much with the aligners on, but I notice I have been much more confident in smiling with these things off. I have had no problems getting the aligners in or out, but I have cracked several of them near the end of my two weeks of wearing them (probably have cracked 4 or 5 of them). My ortho was surprised as he said he has never seen ANYONE crack these things. I guess I am just rough on them? I do take them on and off a lot as I LOVE to snack! I have had minor pain, but nothing serious, and very little problem with speech once I got used to them. I HAVE cheated a lot and had many days where I didn't wear them for the 23 hours the ortho told me to. Christmas time was tough with parties with lots of finger foods, also eating out with friends is hard as sometimes the dinners are long. I took them out at a bar once too for a few hours as I really didn't feel like conversing with females with the aligners on! haha Didn't seem to effect the treatment much, but I don't plan on making a habit of this. I have also taken them out at work a few times when I had to make a presentation. Overall I think the invisalign treatment is GREAT! I paid a lot for them - but worth every penny, as braces would have been horrible at this stage in my life. I just hope that I am pleased with the end result, or there will be no way to avoid the braces. Will post an update later, and perhaps a before and after pic as well.

Thanks for all who posted....I appreciate the feedback and support.

Cheers,

Astro

[Astroboy]

I have the exact same situation as you! I'm 27 and like you my bottoms are straight but my top were misaligned, and to get everything perfect I would need surgery on lower jaw to bring it forward. so I got braced on the top but it will also leave me with an overbite.

the braces have not been on too long but already my top teeth have straightened out signifigantly, and even though I know there is an overbite now I really dont think anyone else can tell( unless they are teeth obsessed!like me at the moment) Anyway Im hoping that the end result wont be too over my bottoms, but I'll just have to wait and see, the ortho mentioned teeth slenderising to gain a few millimetres,

Just wondering if you are finished your treatment? If so, how does it look? If you are still in treatment how is it going?

[Astroboy]

I have 6 mm overjet, too. I was told the same story with jaw surgery etc.
I have deepbite also (my uppers covers lowers fully). I went the braces route. My deepbite will be corrected and my overjet somewhat. For me it is ok, because my overjet does not bother me. It was deepbite that caused me problems. I had to take lower metal braces in order to correct deepbite. I will get ceramic uppers, but I can switch to Invisaling later into my treatment.

I did not even consider jaw surgery, too drastic for my taste. My teeth were quite straight to start with. I would have been happy with my teeth, and I would have not taken braces if I would not have had problems because of my deepbite ( teeth and facial pain).

Yeah, the surgery seemed very drastic for my tastes as well. I am very happy to hear that there are others an overjet that seem to be satisfied with their teeth. Are you finished your treatment yet?

[abcdefghi]

Lisa65 wrote:
> I started my treatment with 8mm of overjet, and at the moment I think it's
> actually bigger than that, because as my front teeth have straightened up
> they have flared outwards. Yet from the front it isn't all that apparent.
> It's only if you look at my profile that it becomes obvious that my front
> teeth stick out a lot more than the bottom ones. Most people do not show a
> lot of their bottom teeth when talking and laughing, so having your top
> teeth looking straight will probably make a lot of difference to your
> confidence, even if you still have an overjet.
>
> You don't mention extractions at all. Did your orthodontist not mention
> that as a possible way of reducing the overjet without having jaw surgery?

[djspeece]

This post is 15 years old, so I doubt that the OP is still seeking an answer.