Why would an orthodontic treatment worsen overbite conditions during the initial stages of the treatment?

Doctor's Answer

Thank you for your question. The term "overbite" is a bit of a misnomer, most laypeople refer to "overbite" as the upper teeth protrusion or the upper teeth being more in front of the lower teeth. Sometimes the upper teeth do become slightly more slanted forwards during the initial stages of treatment as the teeth were previously crooked and your dentist may be correcting the alignment first in the intial stages.

When teeth are aligned and insufficient space is provided in the initial stages, the teeth are pushed forwards into a wider circumference. This will give the appearance that the teeth are more protruding. However if there are spaces created later on either with expansion, extraction, distalisation or interproximal reduction, the teeth inclination can be improved at a later stage in the treatment. Do always communicate your concerns with your dentist so that he/she will be better able to address them.

Hope this helps and all the very best,

Dr Priscilla Lu

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