Open Bite Treatment

An open bite occurs when selected upper and lower teeth do not meet when the mouth is closed. It may affect the front teeth, back teeth, one side, or several areas of the bite. The cause may relate to tooth position, jaw growth, oral habits, tongue posture, eruption patterns, airway-related factors, tooth wear, or previous orthodontic relapse.

At Bourgeois Dental Clinic in Dubai, open-bite treatment begins with identifying the likely cause and determining whether correction can be achieved through orthodontic tooth movement alone or requires additional habit, restorative, periodontal, or jaw-related planning.

What Types of Open Bite Are There?

• Anterior open bite: The front teeth do not meet while the back teeth contact.
• Posterior open bite: Selected back teeth do not meet while other teeth contact.
• Dental open bite: The concern is caused mainly by tooth position or eruption.
• Skeletal open bite: Jaw-growth relationships make a major contribution.
• Functional open bite: Oral habits, tongue posture, or movement patterns contribute to the bite.
• Relapsed open bite: The bite reopens after previous orthodontic treatment.

What Are the Signs of an Open Bite?

• A visible gap between the upper and lower front teeth when biting
• Difficulty biting into selected foods
• Chewing mainly with the back teeth
• Speech changes in selected cases
• Tongue positioning between the teeth
• Uneven tooth wear
• Overloading of selected teeth
• Repeated breakage of restorations
• Facial or smile imbalance
• Return of a gap after previous treatment

What Can Cause an Open Bite?

• Thumb, finger, or pacifier habits during dental development
• Tongue posture or tongue pressure between the teeth
• Jaw-growth relationships
• Differences in tooth eruption
• Missing, impacted, or displaced teeth
• Altered bite after tooth loss
• Restorations that prevent normal tooth contact
• Relapse after orthodontic treatment
• A combination of dental, skeletal, and functional factors

Airway or breathing concerns may coexist with some open-bite patterns, but the bite alone does not establish an airway diagnosis. Appropriate medical assessment may be recommended when symptoms indicate it.

Why Should an Open Bite Be Assessed?

An open bite may contribute to:

• Difficulty biting or chewing
• Uneven distribution of bite forces
• Tooth wear or fractures
• Repeated restorative damage
• Speech or tongue-position concerns
• Progressive changes in the bite
• Gum or bone stress around overloaded teeth
• Aesthetic concerns

Not every minor open bite requires immediate treatment. The dentist evaluates function, stability, progression, oral health, and patient goals.

What Happens During the Assessment?

1. Bite examination: Identifying which teeth do not meet and measuring the open space.
2. Tooth-position assessment: Reviewing eruption, inclination, crowding, spacing, and tooth wear.
3. Jaw and facial review: Assessing skeletal relationships, profile, facial height, symmetry, and growth.
4. Habit and function review: Discussing tongue posture, oral habits, swallowing patterns, and previous treatment.
5. Gum and bone assessment: Checking recession, inflammation, tissue thickness, and support.
6. Restoration review: Identifying crowns, fillings, bridges, or missing teeth that affect contact.
7. Diagnostic records: Photographs, scans, impressions, and imaging may be recommended when clinically appropriate.

How Can an Open Bite Be Treated?

Treatment may include:

• Metal braces
• Ceramic braces
• Clear aligners in suitable cases
• Orthodontic elastics or other auxiliaries
• Management of contributing oral habits
• Restorative adjustment or rebuilding of selected teeth
• Replacement of missing teeth
• Growth-related planning in suitable younger patients
• Combined orthodontic and jaw-surgery assessment for selected severe skeletal adult cases
• Monitoring when immediate treatment is not appropriate

Can Clear Aligners Treat an Open Bite?

Clear aligners may improve selected dental open bites through planned tooth movement, attachments, elastics, and control of selected front or back teeth.

Suitability depends on the cause, severity, patient cooperation, tongue or habit factors, gum and bone limits, and whether the concern is mainly dental or skeletal.

Can Fixed Braces Treat an Open Bite?

Fixed braces may reposition teeth, coordinate both arches, adjust vertical tooth relationships, close selected spaces, and improve bite contacts.

Additional elastics, appliances, habit management, restorative care, or combined assessment may be required depending on the cause.

Do Oral Habits Need to Be Treated?

Persistent thumb sucking, finger habits, tongue pressure, or other functional patterns may contribute to treatment difficulty or relapse.

Stopping or managing a contributing habit may improve stability, but treatment should be based on clinical assessment. Habit appliances or referral may be considered when appropriate.

Can Speech Therapy Be Needed?

Selected patients with tongue-position or speech concerns may benefit from assessment by an appropriately qualified professional.

Orthodontic treatment changes tooth position, but it does not automatically correct every speech or swallowing pattern.

Can Adults Treat an Open Bite Without Surgery?

Some adult dental open bites can be treated with braces, clear aligners, restorative care, or a combination of approaches.

Severe skeletal open bites may have limitations that cannot be fully corrected by tooth movement alone. Combined orthodontic and surgical assessment may therefore be discussed in selected cases, but surgery is not required for every open bite.

Can Restorative Dentistry Close an Open Bite?

Composite bonding, crowns, onlays, or other restorations may rebuild worn teeth or improve selected minor contact problems.

Restorative treatment does not change the underlying jaw relationship or correct significant tooth-position problems. It should be coordinated with orthodontic planning to reduce the risk of repeated fracture or excessive tooth preparation.

Can an Open Bite Return After Treatment?

Yes. Relapse may occur because of growth, tongue posture, oral habits, bite forces, tooth movement, gum and bone changes, or inconsistent retainer wear.

Orthodontic retainers, management of contributing factors, and long-term monitoring are important for stability.

How Long Does Open Bite Treatment Take?

Duration depends on:

• The cause and severity of the open bite
• The number of teeth involved
• Whether the concern is dental or skeletal
• Age and growth stage
• The appliance selected
• Aligner or elastic wear
• Management of habits or tongue posture
• Need for restorative or combined treatment
• Biological response and appointment attendance

What Are the Risks and Limitations?

• Temporary soreness and tissue irritation
• Gum inflammation with inadequate cleaning
• Gum recession in susceptible areas
• Root shortening in some teeth
• Incomplete correction because of skeletal or functional limits
• Need for additional appliances, restorative treatment, or referral
• Changes in facial or tooth appearance
• Longer treatment than expected
• Continued growth affecting the result
• Relapse after treatment

When Should an Open Bite Be Assessed Promptly?

Assessment is recommended when the bite is worsening, a child cannot bite with the front teeth, teeth are wearing or fracturing, restorations repeatedly break, the jaw position changes, or the condition returns after previous treatment.

Open Bite Treatment on Sheikh Zayed Road

Bourgeois Dental Clinic is located on the first floor of Indigo Sky Building, Sheikh Zayed Road, Exit 41, near Al Thanya Street in Dubai. The clinic is accessible from Al Barsha, Umm Al Sheif, Umm Suqeim, Jumeirah, Al Quoz, Barsha Heights, The Greens, Dubai Marina, and nearby communities.

Book an open-bite assessment to discuss braces, clear aligners, oral habits, tongue posture, tooth wear, relapse, restorative care, or combined jaw-related treatment planning.