Underbite

What is an underbite?

An underbite is whenever your lower front teeth sit in front of the upper ones in a closed position. This is the opposite of how your front teeth are supposed to sit in relationship to one another. Ideally, your top front teeth are supposed to sit in front of the lower ones. With an underbite, this relationship is reversed. Most underbite cases are the result of the lower jaw being too large or positioned too far forward.

Underbites are difficult to fix. However, there are several benefits to fixing your underbite whenever it’s possible. Having an underbite can be harmful to your front teeth. The incorrect tooth relationship places lots of added stress onto your front teeth making them more likely to chip, fracture and wear out with age. Fixing your underbite protects your front teeth by reducing the stress exerted on them. This helps protect your front teeth and keeps them happy and healthy. Continue reading to learn more about how you can fix your underbite relationship:

Can you fix your underbite with clear aligners?

Clear aligners are rarely used to fix underbites. To fix an underbite, you need to wear braces. In fact, more advanced underbite conditions usually require additional treatment, such as tooth extraction, facegear or even jaw surgery! Of course, there are some occasional underbite cases that do end up qualifying for clear aligner therapy, but for the most part, you should expect to wear braces. The occasional cases where an underbite qualifies for clear aligners must meet the following conditions:

• Your jaw relationship must be correct. If there are any discrepancies between your upper and lower jaws, then clear aligners are not an option.
• Your underbite needs to be limited to no more than a millimeter or so. This means that your lower front teeth are just barely in front of the upper ones. Anything more than this does not qualify for clear aligners and requires braces.

If an underbite qualifies for clear aligner therapy, it must be treated under direct dentist supervision. You should never rely on at-home clear aligners to fix an underbite. Unsupervised clear aligner treatments like Smile Direct Club™ could damage your front teeth or even mess up your bite. Choose Invisalign® instead to fix your underbite orthodontic relationship if your cases qualifies for clear aligner treatment. Click on the button below to find an Invisalign® dentist near you and learn more about how to fix your underbite: