Metal Mouth Message Board

Using Invisalign, what is the greatest amount of upper intrusion you have either (1) experienced yourself or (2) seen directly on someone else?

I would estimate that I have an overbite of 4 mm. My ideal result would be to (1) intrude teeth 5-12 (on which I have veneers) in my upper arch 3-4 mm and (2) lower my lower arch 0-1 mm.

I've been reading everything I can about Invisalign G5 (and watching everything I can on YouTube). I've also had consultations with the two Top 1% Invisalign orthodontists in my zip code. Here is where I stand with them:

- Orthodontist #1’s most important comment during the consultation was that I could expect .25 mm of movement every two weeks (every week using Acceledent). So, I had him take my scans and run a ClinCheck simulation, which I viewed last week. It did not show enough intrusion of the upper teeth (specifically, teeth 5-12, the ones with the veneers). I reiterated my concerns and he said he’d re-run his model, which I’ll see next week on March 10.
- Orthodontist #2, who I met with earlier this week, was less enthusiastic about Invisalign’s deep bite reduction/intrusion capabilities, commenting that it likely wouldn’t be reasonable to expect more than 2 mm of intrusion. Notably, she referred to my deep bite in relative terms (i.e., almost 100% overlap of the lower incisors). I should have asked her to express this in absolute terms (i.e., millimeters) since my lower incisors have excess gingival display.

Up until yesterday, I was excited to see what Orthodontist #1’s revised ClinCheck will look like, but Orthodontist #2 made me wonder whether or not he is overpromising.

I’m worried that if I can’t get my desired result with Invisalign G5 and don’t want the braces associated with jaw surgery (to say nothing of ruining my veneers and having to replace them), then there will be nothing I can do.

Thanks in advance for any informed feedback.

Couple of things to note. The simulation is not how your teeth will look. It is a simulation of the aligners that are created. Our simulations rarely look like the final result we want. The analogy is of a paper clip being bent to remain straight. You often have to overdo certain movements in order to end up at a certain spot.

That being said, bite opening is definitely possible. Many of the leading orthodontists do not use G5 features and have been opening bites for years before G5 came out. The mechanics of bite opening can be completed very well with conventional attachments. Good luck!