Can Jaw Surgery Fix an Open Bite?
An open bite can make eating and speaking difficult. Here is how orthognathic surgery can help.
An open bite means your front teeth do not touch when you bite down, leaving a gap between the upper and lower front teeth. Jaw surgery is often the most effective treatment for skeletal open bites.
- Types of open bite:
- Dental open bite β caused by thumb sucking, tongue thrusting, or mouth breathing. May be treated with orthodontics and habit correction
- Skeletal open bite β caused by the jaw bones growing in a way that prevents the front teeth from meeting. This requires surgery
- How surgery fixes an open bite:
- The upper jaw (maxilla) is moved upward and sometimes rotated to close the gap
- This is typically a maxillary osteotomy (upper jaw surgery)
- The lower jaw often follows to create a proper bite
Signs of a Skeletal Open Bite
- Your front teeth do not touch at all when you bite
- You have a long face appearance
- You cannot comfortably close your lips without straining
- You have difficulty biting into sandwiches or apples
- You have speech problems (particularly with S sounds)
- You have a tongue thrust habit
Why Braces Alone May Not Work
Braces can tilt teeth to partially close an open bite, but they cannot change the underlying jaw position. This can lead to unstable results that relapse. Surgery corrects the root cause β the jaw position β rather than compensating for it.
Clinical Guidance
A skeletal open bite requires orthognathic surgery β typically upper jaw surgery to reposition the maxilla upward and close the gap. Braces alone may mask the problem temporarily, but surgery provides a stable, long-term solution.