When you decide to straighten your teeth and correct the overbite, you want to know, “How long does it take to fix an overbite with braces?”
Braces may take 18 to 24 months to fix overbite and all related problems. During this time, you need to wear rubber bands for 8 to 9 months that’s the main component to correct the overbite. However, the duration depends on factors such as age, causes of the problem, amount of overbite, and type of case.
In this article, we have discussed all regarding the duration of overbite correction treatment with braces.
Correlate your case with these facts to know your duration. Let’s begin.
Factors that affect the duration of fixing an overbite
Let’s look at the factors that increase or decrease the time of overbite treatment.
Age
Adults get worried about whether they will be able to fix the overbite. People of any age can get treatment with the help of modern orthodontics.
However, its duration depends on age. Those who are younger will get the results quickly.
And, those who are older will get a good result from it but it may take a little longer to get it.
So, adults should keep patient to get overbite corrected.
Skeletal
If your overbite is due to a problem with the jaw bone or skeleton, it needs more complicated procedures to fix the overbite.
In this type of overbite, your upper teeth place much more forwardly than your lower teeth. Causes can be excessive growth or bigger size of the upper jaw.
If the problem was with your teeth only, you may expect a quicker outcome.
Habits
When you have an overbite because of habits such as thumb sucking or tongue thrusting rather than jawbone problem, it may take a shorter duration to fix it.
In these cases, jawbones or teeth aren’t forwardly placed on their own. Your habits are responsible for it. Those habits push the teeth forward over time and increase the overbite.
Using braces and inter-arch rubber bands can easily bring the teeth back to their normal position.
Arch length
You may wonder what is the relationship between arch length and overbite. The length of your arch must be enough to keep your teeth properly aligned.
If the arch is smaller, the orthodontist needs to create space in your mouth to fix the overbite and move the back.
So, it may be required to get your teeth extracted or have surgery before the beginning of the orthodontic treatment. In that case, you need more time to correct the bite.
Amount overbite
The higher the amount of overbite, the longer it will take to fix it.
Suppose someone’s overbite is 10 mm and someone’s 5 mm. Braces and rubber bands will take much less time to fix the 5 mm overbite than the 10 mm.
The reason is you can move teeth to a certain limit. Exceeding that limit will damage the teeth permanently.
It will do more harm than good. So, the orthodontist puts an ideal force on the teeth because of which teeth move to their maximum limit.
Know the ways to fix an overbite effectively.
Attachments
Duration also depends on the components of braces you get to fix the overbite. Usually, you get braces and rubber bands to correct the bite.
If you get rubber bands, it may take 6 months to fix the overbite. However, it also depends on other factors.
You also have to keep in mind that, you need to keep the braces on your teeth more than that time. It may take about 1 to 2 years.
You may also get springs to fix the overbite by braces. But, rubber bands are most commonly used to fix the overbite.
If you get a clear aligner or Invisalign, it may also take 1 to 2 years to fix the overbite.
Cooperation of patient
The outcome of orthodontic treatment and the duration to fix overbite depends on the cooperation of patients.
Your orthodontist gives you some instructions to maintain braces or rubber bands. If you fail to maintain those, you may need more time to solve the problems.
One of the common mistakes is staying away from rubber bands from time to time. As these elastic bands are removable, you may think of taking a break from them.
Don’t do that. This makes the treatment less effective and increases the duration of treatment.
Treatment plan
Even if the two patients have the same amount of overbite, the treatment plan and duration may be different.
In most cases, you have more problems along with overbite. The orthodontist can’t only move your teeth forward.
He designs a treatment plan that corrects all the errors regarding your occlusion. He establishes a perfect relationship between the teeth of the upper and lower jaw.
So, you need to get more time. Without doing that, even if we correct the overbite, it can produce other issues or overbite can come back again after a few weeks or months.
Extraction
Teeth exaction may require sometimes fixing overbite when the amount is high or there is no space in the arch for teeth or you have a skeletal problem.
If you need teeth extraction for braces to fix an overbite, you will need more time to straighten your teeth.
After the extraction you have to give your mouth time to heal the area and then, you get the braces.
Space created due to extraction is big, so it takes a longer duration to close the gaps than braces without tooth extraction.
Case variation
All cases are different. So, the duration of treatment can vary from person to person. Your orthodontist may give you the exact idea.
If you have other problems along with overbite such as crooked or crowded teeth, you need more time to solve all the issues.
Retainer
You have to wear a retainer after braces treatment. It also affects the duration to complete the treatment.
However, your teeth get straightened before getting a retainer. This device helps hold the teeth in a new position or they will reproduce the overbite.
If you have more overbite, you may need to wear a retainer for a longer duration. Usually, the retainer stays for 6 months to a year to stabilize the overbite correction treatment.
Also, learn how to get braces off sooner.
How long does it take to fix an overbite with rubber bands?
Rubber bands take 6 to 9 months to fix the majority of the overbite. If the amount of overbite is more, it will take more time, because it can move teeth up to 1 mm per month on average.
But, rubber bands can’t fix the bite alone. So, you get braces, wires, and other attachments. That’s why the full duration of treatment is longer than that.
Exerting more force than that can be harmful to your teeth. So, the orthodontist always applies an ideal force that creates this amount of tooth movement.
Know in detail about the duration of rubber bands for braces.
Takeaways
Braces may last for 18 to 24 months to fix the overbite and give you a beautiful smile. In fact, braces can be the fastest way to correct your bite if you follow all the instructions by your orthodontist and use the braces care kit that we recommended. So, keep your patients and maintain them properly.
