Have you heard that Invisalign performs wonders for people with typical bites but minor crowding or spacing problems with their teeth, but that Invisalign can’t fix an overbite? Whatever you’ve heard about Invisalign, we’ve got a couple of pieces of important advice. First, confirm your sources. Second, update your information.
Over 20 years, Invisalign has helped over 6,000,000 patients — including many people wearing Invisalign in South Edmonton — achieve their goals of straighter teeth. The easiest teeth to transform with Invisalign are teeth contained in healthy bites, but that have minor overcrowding or spacing problems, it’s true. But constant innovation and development over the course of two decades and millions of cases mean Invisalign can now accomplish astonishing results in much more complex cases — including overbites.
So, let’s start over. Can you obtain Invisalign near you to correct an overbite? Yes. Obviously just how your dentist will use Invisalign in South Edmonton to treat your overbite will depend on your particular circumstances. The best idea if you’re curious about treating an overbite with Invisalign is to arrange a consultation with a dentist near you. Having said that, here’s some general information to help you understand what’s involved.
Treating overbite in patients under age 13
Overbites in patients 12 and under can be corrected by redirecting the patient’s own ongoing growth and development. At this stage, your teeth are still growing. Invisalign uses specialized aligners in a process called Invisalign Mandibular Advancement. Invisalign’s places wings on its aligners to encourage your lower jaw forward in small and gradual increments as you switch from one aligner to the next.
At the same time, then, Invisalign’s aligners straighten your teeth while the wings attached to those aligners gradually align your jaws. Mandibular alignment is not a new idea, but Invisalign accomplishes it much less invasively via the wings on its aligners. Correcting overbite with Invisalign from your dentist in South Edmonton offers several advantages over other options:
- Invisalign can realign your jaw and straighten your teeth at the same time
- You can remove your aligners to eat and to keep your teeth clean
- You’ll be able to eat whatever you want as long as you brush your teeth every time you eat
- Invisalign has no metal or wires that could damage your cheeks or lips
- If you play sports or play an instrument, you can remove your aligners to do so — as long as you keep your aligners in for 20 to 22 hours daily
Treating overbite in teenagers and adults
Once you reach the age of 12 or 13, Invisalign’s Mandibular Advancement approach is no longer appropriate, since your jaw is no longer growing on its own. Instead of redirecting growth that is already happening, Invisalign from a dentist near you will correct your overbite by combining its teeth-straightening aligners with elastics attached to posts cemented to your teeth in strategic locations. Those elastics will slowly, but surely, move your top teeth forward while moving your bottom teeth back. The combination of those corrections will correct your overbite while your aligners also correct the straightness and spacing of your teeth at the same time.
If you have an extreme overbite, elastics alone may be insufficient to correct your overbite. In those cases, your dentist in South Edmonton will recommend that an additional device called a motion appliance to be placed on your upper teeth. The motion appliance is a small bar placed on your upper teeth. The combination of your aligners, the motion bar, and strategically mounted elastics will simultaneously straighten your teeth and correct even an extreme overbite.
If you have an overbite, don’t assume that Invisalign can’t help. Invisalign is an increasingly versatile solution for an increasingly broad range of cosmetic dentistry objectives. To find out if Invisalign can help you, contact a dentist near you for advice.