PATIENTS ARE CONCERNED ABOUT A POSTERIOR OPEN BITE DURING OR AFTER AN ALIGNER TREATMENT?
It could happen quite often that the patient's bite opens posteriorly throughout the treatment after a couple of months. Imagine 2 layers of plastic at the back molars sandwiched between upper and lower teeth, they will push the upper and lower molars away, in that sense the molars will be intruded. Now, this could happen more often in patients with bruxism habits.
IS THIS SOMETHING TO WORRY ABOUT?
Actually, no you shouldn't worry about this nor your patients. There is a standard approach, a proactive one, and even a preventive approach. The standard approach is usually sought in case there is a slight posterior openbite. It is usually done where after the treatment ends and the patient gets a permanent/lingual retainer accompanied with a removable retainer to be worn only at night. Please inform K Line that you need some posterior distamcing at the posterior area i,e, that means creating space above the molars to allow for extrusion. The teeth in the upper and lower arches have enough time throughout the day and at night to super-erupt once again and interdigitate once again like before the treatment. This could happen over a course of 1-3 months period.A more proactive approach after treatment ends is to place buttons and elastics on the teeth to be extruded and use the elastic forces to extrude the posterior teeth once again.
Furthermore, a preventive approach could be also done in such a way that you can prevent the occurrence of posterior open bite altogether right from the beginning of the treatment. Here, you plan the treatment so as to extrude the posterior teeth slightly throughout the treatment with the help of attachment placed on the posterior teeth. The addition of extra torque to the upper anterior teeth and Interproximal Reduction (IPR) in case of a lack of the overjet can be also a good solution.
Whatever the condition is, planning the orthodontic therapy carefully with the help of experts is important before initiating any treatment. We at K Line are here to guide you at every step with our team of experts!