If you've had braces for an open-bite please come inside!

[FlowerPower]

Hello all! I am due to get braces but I am really nervous about the procedure. Before I go into my consultation on Monday I just have a few questions and concerns.

SO I am a 28/F and this will be my first time with braces. I have a bit of crowing with an anterior open bite. I don't think it's severe but it's definitely moderate. I had a thumb sucking habit as a child although I don't any more.

With that being said, my regular dentist was giving free Invisalign consultations and I was encouraged to set up an appointment. I received my results today and basically they told me my case was too advanced for the regular dentist and they referred me to an orthodontist to go over my treatment plan. I have an appointment Monday.

My main concerns are being able to solve my problem without surgery. I don't even know if I will need it, but it seems to pop up whenever I do research on this issue. I honestly didn't think Invisalign would work, but after being told my case was "too advanced" I am hoping that doesn't mean I may need surgery. Has anyone here had experience with closing an open bite without surgery?

I am planning on telling my Ortho I want traditional braces anyways, so I am not really worried about Invisalign. However, for those of you that have been through this issue, what are some other things I should bring up when speaking with him?

Thank you all so much!

[Tyrantblade]

I had an open bite and now I don't, but my teeth are still not perfect so I'm now I'm the phase where the minor changes happen.

I didn't need any extractions or surgery, but every case is a little different.

What it comes down to is what is the cause of the bad bite, if your case is skeletal, treatment would be surgery and braces coordinated with each other.

If it's purely dental, no surgery needed.

Bad enough crowding might need extractions, but there are other ways to make space, so even with crowding extractions may not be necessary.

I would say let them do their job at analyzing your case, once you are done with the consultation, they will be able to make a treatment plan

That is your opportunity to start asking questions and if you seem to hit it off with the orthodontist and like the treatment plan, start the process of receiving treatment and proactively ask the orthodontist any further questions you have and let them know your concerns.

Of course you might end up going to a few consultations before deciding on one treatment plan and Orthodontists since consultations are usually free.

[braceasaurus]

Hello Flowerpower! I''m currently in my third week of braces to correct an anterior open bite and mild crowding, and I too had a thumb sucking habit as a child so we might have quite similar situations!

I'm going the surgery route, which is probably not what you want to hear. Funnily enough, I actually have Class 1 malocclusion, which from what I gather is not all that common to need surgery for.

My main reason for wanting to fix my open bite was that I have a significant overjet, and after consulting with 5 orthodontists & dentists, it seemed to boil down to the fact that, were I to persevere with braces only, the result would be unsatisfactory and likely to relapse. In the end it was just a matter of weighing up the pros and cons and figuring out what I could live with and what I couldn't.

So my best advice would be to seek the most honest answer from your ortho with regards to suitable treatments and their outcomes - even if it's hard to hear. That way, even if you ultimately choose not to go ahead with surgery, you can feel confident that you have made the most informed and best decision that's right for you, and feel secure with the treatment plan you choose. Your dentist has already done right by you by passing your case to someone who is better able to help you, which is a really great indication that they have your best interests at heart

And to be fair, there are many people on these forums who have fantastic results without surgery and absolutely beautiful looking teeth.

Best of luck and let us know how your consultation goes!

[FlowerPower]

Just an update! After several canceled appointments I finally went in today for my consultation. Unfortunately, the doctor said my lower jaw is mis-aligned and so he suggested surgery in addition to braces. He said he could fix it about 70% with Invisalign but it wouldn't be perfect. I think I may shop around for a second opinion, but I am kinda bummed. :(

[Tyrantblade]

Just an update! After several canceled appointments I finally went in today for my consultation. Unfortunately, the doctor said my lower jaw is mis-aligned and so he suggested surgery in addition to braces. He said he could fix it about 70% with Invisalign but it wouldn't be perfect. I think I may shop around for a second opinion, but I am kinda bummed.

That definitely sucks, but maybe you can find an Orthodontist who is certain they can give you a very good result without surgery, it's happened with people here before.

[jaime]

I, too, had an open bite and was a thumb sucker. I had 5 consultations, and 4 of them recommended jaw surgery. I was apprehensive about surgery too and was told by most of them that I could still get a decent result without surgery. In the end, I chose surgery, and I'm glad I did.

[sneed1o1]

I had a very mild anterior open bite, but do to tongue thrusting. Surgery was suggested, but definitely didn't want to go down that route either. This is my second round in braces though. First round, treatment was more focused on closing spacing, and I had more of an edge-to-edge bite then. Tongue thrusting became more prominent over the years as I wasn't aware that my resting tongue position had been wrong all these years, and now here I am! Long story short, bite is now closed, tongue thrusting habit is now under control, so I believe retention will not be a problem. You can search "My 2nd round with braces..." if you want to see some of my progress in pictures.

[testimony777]

I am currently in my 9th month of treatment for an anterior open bite, with over jet and spacing on the top and mild crowding on the bottom. I sucked my fingers as a child but the ortho told me the cause of my open bite was the resting position of my tongue. My bite is now fully closed (overly so as my ortho is over correcting for better retention). My bite closed fairly quickly with rubber bands alone. At my consultation I was told that surgery would be needed to completely correct my bite but my orthodontist was confident that she would be able to make significant improvement with braces. My ortho was shocked at how well and how quickly the treatment worked. However, I started doing tongue exercises to correct the underlying problem from day one and I believe that made the difference.

[HummerMan3]

Anterior open bite here... Have had braces for 5 months now. Initially I had a consultation with an oral surgeon, who recommended double jaw surgery, but I opted against that, as it simply isn't feasible to have any downtime with my job. I elected to have TADs placed. Initially they were not doing a whole lot of good, but since having a tighter spring placed 3 weeks ago, I have appreciated some molar intrusion. Time will tell whether it was wise to go the non-surgical route, but my fingers are crossed that the TADs are starting to do their job. There are limited non-surgical options for closing an open bite.

[Tyrantblade]

I'm pretty sure it's more about cause of a bad bite than the type of bad bite it is.

Idk if open bites are more likely to have a skeletal cause, but my treatment plan didn't include surgery and most of my open bite has gone away in less than a year of treatment; with only a little bit of space between my top and bottom teeth in certain areas.

[arraye]

I've been told outright my issue is skeletal and will need surgery to even try and close my gap! I'm not a tongue thruster as far as I'm aware. Definitely try and get a few opinions. If you're not a skeletal case then you have options other than surgery - fingers crossed for you!