question about edge to edge treatment with braces

[sean2187]

First of all, I have a posterior crossbite (which ortho wants to try and correct with quad helix expander) on the upper right side of teeth and an edge to edge bite that I developed at the age of 17 (im now 24 years old) and I just got braces put on today... my edge to edge bite is due to me having a constricted upper jaw due to it being very narrow, so he said that it's a skeletal problem and not dental but he believes my bite can be corrected with braces and elastics. Anyways..... I was told today that I might develop an underbite in the process of having my edge to edge bite corrected. How and why does this happen? and when/if it does, how long will I have the underbite for before my bite is corrected and the top set of teeth are resting over the bottom? Thank you in advance to anyone who answers these two questiosn

[sean2187]

Im seeing a lot of views, but no replies.. Can somebody please answer these questions? preferably someone who has had the same experience with being treated via elastics and braces, but even someone with the knowledge of how this usually plays out would be great too. Thanks

[TumbleDryLow]

This is all going to depend on how your ortho treats you and the order in which he corrects things. Only your orthodontist will be able to answer how long you will have an underbite and even then it will be a guess. Everyones teeth move at different rates. As for why you will have an underbite: orthodontics is a game of push and pull. Getting one thing right often means temporarily pushing something else out of alignment.

[sean2187]

[quote="TumbleDryLow"]This is all going to depend on how your ortho treats you and the order in which he corrects things. Only your orthodontist will be able to answer how long you will have an underbite and even then it will be a guess. Everyones teeth move at different rates. As for why you will have an underbite: orthodontics is a game of push and pull. Getting one thing right often means temporarily pushing something else out of alignment.[/quote]


Thanks alot. You're definetely right when it comes to the not knowing the duration of the underbite, because the ortho im seeing did say "Im not sure how long you will have the underbite for if it does develop, but it will only be temporary" Plus he didn't tell me I was going to gain one for sure because I was told originally that I 'may' develop an underbite. They didn't say it was for sure, but told me that it does happen to some people who gain treatment for an edge to edge. Anyways, thanks again :)

[gary]

I am currently in the final stages for treatment of what was an edge to edge bite and the closing of gaps. I used standard braces and elastics for a few months. My bite has changed to the point where my top teeth rest over my bottoms in the front. Fortunately, I never developed an underbite. However, he never suggested that I would. This is mainly due to the spaces I had on my bottom teeth which was honestly the only thing that allowed this to work without surgery.

So anyway, I can't really aswer your specific questions as everybody's situation is different. I just wanted to let you know that it is possible and did happen for me.

Good luck, and have fun with those elastics

[sean2187]

That's awesome Gary. Im glad you were able to get your edge to edge corrected.Thanks for letting me know that that treatment helped for you, cuz that gives me alot more hope that mine will get better