Treatment of Anterior Open Bite Using Clear Aligner Therapy

Abstract

Anterior open bite can be of dental, skeletal, functional or a combination of all three in origin. An anterior open bite is present when there is no contact between the upper and lower anterior teeth and no overbite (vertical overlap of the upper and lower incisors). The severity of open bite varies from an edge to edge relationship to a severe open bite with teeth contact only in the molar areas. Ideally, treatment of open bites should be started as early as they are diagnosed by the dentist or pediatric dentist/orthodontist. Often, early intervention can eliminate the causes of the open bite especially if they are related to a persistent habit such as thumb sucking or mouth breathing. Also, early intervention can re-direct jaw growth and establish a more favorable mandibular growth direction. This chapter will discuss treatment of open bite in non-growing patients by using clear aligner therapy and no adjunct orthognathic surgery.

Keywords: Anterior open bite, Clear aligners, Control, Edge-to-edge bite, Habit, Intrusion/extrusion, Mouth breathing, Tongue thrusting, Vertical dimension.