A deep bite dental discrepancy is a commonly seen vertical discrepancy in orthodontics. It can be caused by a mandibular deficiency and a reduced lower facial height. It results in excessive forward rotation of the mandible. It is frequently seen in conjunction with a horizontal palatal plane, a low mandibular plane angle, and a brachycephalic growth pattern. Patients typically present with overeruption of the anterior teeth and undereruption of the posterior teeth.
Ideally, severe deep bites should be corrected in early treatment, as they can cause negative side effects with no intervention. For example, patients may experience palatal impingement and trauma due the mandibular incisors occluding on the palatal mucosa. Or, the maxillary incisors may cause mandibular gingival trauma, which, over time, may lead to recession. High occlusal forces on the mandibular incisal edges may lead to premature incisal edge wear and fremitus. In some severe cases, mandibular overclosure may cause TMJ problems.
Addressing a deep bite in early treatment will lead to a shorter and more straightforward Phase II comprehensive treatment.
One option for deep bite correction is a removable intraoral appliance known as a maxillary bite plate. This appliance has acrylic behind the maxillary anterior teeth to prevent complete occlusion of mandibular anterior teeth. The occlusal forces will facilitate intrusion of the incisors, and allow the posterior teeth to extrude, thus opening the bite.
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