Bite Improvement?

Message

#1 Post by **Skylark** » Sun Apr 15, 2007 11:18 am

Hiya,
I'm currently in upper ceramic braces to bring down a tooth that is too high (extrusion?) I'd hoped to go for Invisalign for my whole treatment but was told that traditional braces were the only way to bring down this tooth. Anyway, the ceramics are working fine and I'm hoping to swap to Invisalign in a couple of months.

Thing is, when I went for my first consultation, the ortho noticed a problem with my bite on one side - I've never noticed it (and after having braces as a teenager, I'd assumed that my bite was fine). The only way to correct it perfectly is to have full metals and elastics on both top and bottom to realign jaws. That is something I don't really feel necessary as it's a big commitment and I don't experience any noticable problems with my bite. I'm not asking for perfect, just an improvement.

So I'd like to know if the Invisalign trays could make some improvement to my bite. I know that a better bite would lead to a more stable result and am happy to wear invisalign for as long as it takes, but am not willing to go back into full metals for another 2 years.

Anyone had their bite improved with Inivisalign?

Thanks x

#2 Post by **diehard** » Sun Apr 15, 2007 11:29 am

im a bit confused, if your in ceramic braces why not get them on bottom 2 because by the time the tooth has come down u will be fully used to them and also the main reason people are in invisalign is because they are not confident enough to wear metal in the 1st place it seems u have already made the step, also invisalign is more likely to flower up your bite than fix it.

#3 Post by **Skylark** » Sun Apr 15, 2007 11:53 am

My ortho tried a retainer to bring the upper tooth down then put on ceramic uppers as a last minute fix - for 6 months only. He did this without extra charge but said to have bottoms on too would be an extra commitment and a lot more money as it would be a full treatment rather than a compromise treatment.

My bottom teeth appear straight and I'd really rather they were left alone. I have got used the upper ceramics but am still hoping to have them off as quickly as possible as they were not part of the plan. I really just wanted minor improvements to the look of the front teeth and to stop them becoming more crooked (they were slipping despite 10 yrs of night time retainer wear!)

I have had no problems with my bite and never even noticed it was crooked until ortho pointed it out - has anyone just gone for minor straightening of front teeth and left their imperfect bite alone?

My front teeth are now largely straight and invisaligns are supposed to do the final tweaking over the next few months. The ortho has assured me that Invisalign will not worsen the bite but I would ideally like some improvement (not perfection, just a more stable result) and want to know if this could be possible with invisalign.

#4 Post by **Skylark** » Mon Apr 16, 2007 8:34 am

Hi Meryaten!

My lapsing teeth are mainly due to the fact that none of the several retainers I've had over the last 10 yrs have fit properly - that's the National Health Service for you! I doubt my bite helped though...

Saw my ortho today and he said that my bite will not cause my newly straightened front teeth to lapse (I'm going to have a bonded retainer) and that hopefully the bite should settle a bit on its own. Am going to cross fingers... I was only after a compromise treatment to sort out some overcrowding and movement to the front teeth so am happy with how it's going so far.

Thanks for the advice

#5 Post by **invisagirl** » Fri Apr 20, 2007 12:38 pm

O.k. this is probably not what you want to hear but hey I'm only one person and just cause it happened to me doesn't mean it will happen to others. Anyway I started with Invisalign and my bottom teeth were done in 3 months so I switched to a retainer. Problem was since Invisalign was moving my front teeth around my bite was messed up. For two years I wore the bottom retainer and never got a stable result. After six months of wearing the retainer 24x7 I switched to nighttime use and every night when I put the retainer in I could tell my lower teeth had been shifting. That was still happening two years after finishing treatment for the lowers. Well flash forward to after metal braces and a better bite and now I'm supposed to wear both upper and lower retainer 24x7 but if I take my lower retainer out for 6 hrs I can pop it back in and I don't feel any tightness (i.e. things didn't move). For me, I truly think because my bite wasn't aligned right before my lower teeth never would of settled regardless of how long I wore the retainer. Granted I'm only 11 days post-braces but I can already tell that the lowers are settling without a problem.

Granted none of this means it will happen to you!

#6 Post by **Skylark** » Mon Apr 23, 2007 12:21 pm

Thanks for your reply Invisagirl,

Yes I do worry about them slipping again. Thing is, I'm paying for a compromise treatment and can't really afford the money or commitment for another 2 yr course of full metal braces. I only got back in touch with the ortho to stop them slipping any further, and have already opted for more treatment than I originally expected (ceramics). As I'm sure you've found, one thing always leads to another in orthodontics!

My teeth slipped first time round due to a series of ill fitting retainers but the ortho assures me that my front teeth will remain in place with permanent retainers. I hope he's right!

And I really hope yours stay in place, sounds like they're doing fine.

Thanks for your advice

#7 Post by **Skylark** » Mon Apr 23, 2007 12:21 pm

Thanks for your reply Invisagirl,

Yes I do worry about them slipping again. Thing is, I'm paying for a compromise treatment and can't really afford the money or commitment for another 2 yr course of full metal braces. I only got back in touch with the ortho to stop them slipping any further, and have already opted for more treatment than I originally expected (ceramics). As I'm sure you've found, one thing always leads to another in orthodontics!

My teeth slipped first time round due to a series of ill fitting retainers but the ortho assures me that my front teeth will remain in place with permanent retainers. I hope he's right!

And I really hope yours stay in place, sounds like they're doing fine.

Thanks for your advice