Overbite Treatment In Cary

Everybody has a little overbite. The upper front teeth are meant to sit slightly in front of the lower ones. It becomes worth treating when the uppers hide too much of the lowers, when the lower front teeth bite into the gums behind the uppers, or when the front teeth start wearing flat. At my Cary office on Kildaire Farm Road I treat overbites in kids, teens and adults, mostly with braces or clear aligners.

The mirror test

Bite down and look. If you can barely see your lower front teeth, or can’t see them at all, the overbite is probably deeper than it should be. Another clue sits on the roof of the mouth, just behind the upper front teeth: red marks or a sore spot where the lower teeth have been reaching up and hitting the gum. Cleveland Clinic notes that a deep overbite can lead to gum irritation, worn teeth and jaw discomfort over time. Our own post on whether clear aligners can fix an overbite explains how the overlap is measured.

Oddly, the person with the deep bite usually has no idea. Parents spot it first in school photos, or a dentist mentions flattened edges on the lower teeth during a cleaning.

Where it comes from

Families, mostly. A lower jaw that’s a touch short. Upper front teeth tipped down and forward. Back teeth that never grew quite tall enough to hold the bite open. A thumb habit or years with a pacifier can make it worse, and so can losing back teeth early. My first job at the consult is figuring out whether the teeth or the jaw are doing most of it.

Fixing it

Kids who are still growing

Growth helps me a lot, and I like to use it. With early treatment, a simple appliance can sometimes guide the lower jaw forward or open the bite before all the adult teeth arrive. Many children don’t need that. If waiting is the better call, I’ll say so.

Teens and adults

Braces and clear aligners both treat overbites well. Braces let me flatten the curve of the lower teeth and use rubber bands to bring the jaws into better balance, while aligners can be built with small bite ramps that let the back teeth settle together. Adults who’d rather nothing showed can look at InBrace. In the occasional adult where the jaw difference is large, we’d talk about whether surgery with an oral surgeon deserves a look.

Curious how deep your overbite really is? A free consult will tell you. Call (919) 852-0009 or request a free consultation online.

Use this checklist before your visit

Answering these ahead of time helps me plan faster, and it brings up habits or symptoms you might not think to mention.

Teeth biting into the palate

This one moves up my list. When the lower front teeth land on the gum behind the uppers, that tissue gets sore, and over years it can be damaged. At that point it’s a health problem, not a cosmetic one, and I treat it with more urgency.

Flattened front teeth in adults

Lower front teeth with worn, flat edges can mean a deep bite has been grinding them down for a long time. Correcting the bite first often lets your dentist restore those teeth afterward with a longer-lasting result.

Why deep bites creep back

The jaw muscles keep pulling the way they always have. So retention gets planned on day one, not at the end. Some patients wear a removable retainer at night, some also get a bonded wire, and I’ll go over the types of retainers we offer and how long you’ll wear them.

Your first Cary visit

The consultation is free. We take digital x-rays and a scan, and I measure how far your upper teeth overlap the lowers, then check for wear and gum irritation. After that I explain what’s causing it and which options make sense. My team covers insurance and payment with you too, and we file most plans.

Day to day in treatment

For most of my Cary patients, overbite treatment fits around school and work without much fuss. Braces mean an adjustment every several weeks, and the first few days after can be a little sore; soft foods help. Aligners mean a new set of trays on a schedule, worn most of the day and popped out only to eat and brush.

Rubber bands appear in a lot of overbite cases either way. They also have more to do with speed than anything else, and I tell teens straight out that skipped elastics add months. Someone whose lower teeth have been biting into the gums often feels relief early, once the bite starts to open. Bite ramps or small pads on the back teeth feel strange for a few days, because the back teeth won’t meet at first. Then most people forget about them.

With aligners, the elastics hook onto small buttons or cut-outs in the trays, and taking them off to eat becomes part of the routine within a week or so.

Our life with braces page covers food, cleaning and sports in more detail. A clarinet, a trumpet, a contact sport: mention it at the consult so I can plan around it. A short note from your dentist about any wear they’ve seen is useful too, since it shows how fast the bite has been changing. Clicking or soreness in the jaw is worth telling me about, because a deep bite can be part of that picture.

Who is writing this

I’m Dr. Clay VanderWall, an orthodontist with offices in Cary, Raleigh and Durham. I earned my DDS with honors from the University of Detroit Mercy School of Dentistry and later completed a three-year orthodontic residency at Albert Einstein Medical Center in Philadelphia. Before private practice I served on active duty as a dentist in the U.S. Navy. You can read more about my background on my bio page.

Ready to have your bite checked? Book a free consult in Cary. Call (919) 852-0009 or request a free consultation online.

Overbite questions from Cary families

Book an overbite consult in Cary

My Cary office is at 1815 Kildaire Farm Road, Suite C, with early 8 am appointments Monday through Thursday. Your first exam is free, and you’ll leave knowing what’s behind your overbite and how I’d treat it.

Book your overbite consult with VanderWall Orthodontics in Cary. Call (919) 852-0009 or request a free consultation online.