Edge to edge/underbites and invisalign

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#1 Post by **24braceface** » Sat Mar 07, 2009 12:59 am

Are there any Invisalign users here that are wearing them to treat an edge to edge bite or underbite? Does invisalign work on edge to edge bites? I have an edge to edge bite, and have been wearing my aligners since this summer and haven't seen much movement. I'm not content. I'm supposed to be done in July.

#2 Post by **laxtreme56** » Sat Mar 07, 2009 2:28 pm

I'm using a sagittal appliance to treat an underbite with a small openbite. Like you, I'm not overly impressed with my progress. I don't know if invisilign would work for an underbite, unless it's dental in nature. If it's skeletal I would assume braces with elastics could potentially fix the bite. I'm supposed to go back to my Ortho in May but I'm thinking bout going in sooner and asking for alternate treatment options. I've read extracting the mandible premolars and shifting the front teeth backward has been used to correct mild to moderate underbites.

#3 Post by **24braceface** » Sat Mar 07, 2009 2:42 pm

laxtreme56 wrote:I'm using a sagittal appliance to treat an underbite with a small openbite. Like you, I'm not overly impressed with my progress. I don't know if invisilign would work for an underbite, unless it's dental in nature. If it's skeletal I would assume braces with elastics could potentially fix the bite. I'm supposed to go back to my Ortho in May but I'm thinking bout going in sooner and asking for alternate treatment options. I've read extracting the mandible premolars and shifting the front teeth backward has been used to correct mild to moderate underbites.

Thanks for your reply. I hope everything works out for you. My dentist isn't an ortho so I guess I'm screwed when it comes to alternate treatments.

Let me know about your progress. Like you, I'm going to my dentist next week so hopefully he'll offer me some anwers.

#4 Post by **Wireless** » Sun Mar 08, 2009 10:28 am

I'm being treated for a severe overbite with Invisalign where the problem is curvature in my lower jaw. My ortho went through my treatment plan where he would first correct any problems in my arches and tooth rotations. I'm three months into this and the results are not that visible as my teeth appeared straight when I started treatment.

After these corrections are done, my ortho then plans to intrude my lower front teeth and extrude the rear molars. He went through these steps in detail prior to starting. In my case, the "Clincheck" doesn't show everything he plans to do. He did caution me that I may need to finish with regular braces if he can't get the results he wants.

I suggest you review your treatment plan with your dentist to see when he plans to start working with the underbite condition and when you can expect to see results. You can also ask about any affiliation he has with an orthodontist for another opinion if you have concerns.

Regarding your concerns about being treated by a dentist instead of an ortho, this depends on skill and maintaining current knowledge. I'm on my third ortho treatment because of relapse due to my jaw structure. The first treatment was by an ortho in the 1960's. My overbite problem returned within 10 years. My second treatment was by a family dentist and the problem did not recur for almost 20 years, so in my case the dentist's treatment was better than the original ortho. However, the dentist didn't address the long term retention issue, so at age 59, I've had to go to my kids' orthodontist!

This brings another point - how does your dentist plan to keep the problem from recurring, particularly if there is a skeletal element involved.

Good luck with your treatment!!

#5 Post by **24braceface** » Mon Mar 09, 2009 5:25 pm

Thanks so much for your response Wireless. It was incredibly helpful and informative. I'm going to the dentist tomorrow. I'm hoping for thorough answers and a solution.

How long are you going to wear your invisalign?

#6 Post by **Wireless** » Tue Mar 10, 2009 6:34 am

I have 14 Upper and 21 Lower Trays - which would be 42 weeks for a normal case. However, there could be problems particularly when extruding my rear teeth. During my previous treatment, it took several months to do this with an appliance that used elastics, and Invisalign doesn't do a good job of extrusions. My contract with my ortho is for 18 months, which is probably a better indicator of treatment time.

I'm wearing Invisalign because of my ortho's recommendation to avoid further injury to a resorbed upper tooth root from a previous treatment and he was concerned regular braces would make the problem worse. Invisalign was never mentioned to me until the records consultation where the damaged tooth root was noted. He wants to correct anything involving the upper tooth with Invisalign and do as much as possible for the deep overbite. If he can't get the results he wants, I'll have to finish with regular braces for a few months. I don't have a fixed schedule, but do have a fixed price.

You may want to ask your dentist what are the options if Invisalign doesn't totally correct your problem. Hopefully, you won't have to go with other options, but it's good to know what they are.