Overjet correction
What is an overjet?
An overjet is a misalignment that creates a horizontal distance between your upper and lower front teeth. Ideally, your upper teeth should overlap the lower teeth by 1 to 2 millimeters. When an overjet occurs, this gap appears as a larger 4 to 10-millimeter space. Fixing an overjet lowers the risk of dental injuries and improves many conditions, assisting with long-lasting comfort and health.
What can cause overjet teeth?
Overjets might be inherited from genes, resulting in skeletal bone development in the dental roots and jaw that causes the misalignment. Sometimes the condition may result from the way your adult teeth grow in, as well.
External factors like thumb sucking and overuse of pacifiers at a young age may create this malocclusion. Overcrowded teeth, abnormal tongue pressure and the late growth of adult teeth may also force the upper front teeth forward.
Overjet symptoms
Overbite and overjet appear similar. While both conditions include front teeth appearing over the bottom teeth, an overjet protrudes at an angle. This condition may create the appearance of a small-looking lower jaw, thin lips and a small chin. Common symptoms of an overjet include both physical and visual factors, such as:
- Headaches.
- Temporomandibular joint dysfunction (TMJ).
- Receding chin or short and round face.
- Clenching and grinding teeth.
- Difficulty biting and chewing food.
- Speech impediments such as lisps or slurs.
- Inability to close lips.
- Injuries such as chipped or broken teeth.
- Gum and tooth decay from plaque buildup.
Why fix an overjet?
Fixing an overjet improves gum, teeth and mouth health. While overjet treatments can benefit you at any age, it’s essential to solve misalignment conditions early on before your symptoms progress. Orthodontic care from an experienced and licensed professional does the following:
- Prevent excess tooth wear.
- Lower risk of dental injuries.
- Provide jaw and mouth comfort.
- Allow closing of lips.
- Regularize speech.
- Normalize chewing, biting and swallowing.
- Improve jaw, lip and chin appearance.
Customized treatments for overjet teeth
There are many ways to fix an overjet. Overjet correction without extraction usually involves a form of braces for aligning teeth into their correct position. Treatment customization provides each patient with the best solution for correcting their symptoms with safe and effective results. Some options include:
- Invisalign®: Correct your overjet with clinically-proven custom-made, clear aligners designed for optimized and efficient alignment.
- Braces: A variety of options such as traditional metal braces, Clarity™ Braces and clear ceramic braces provide an effective way for aligning teeth.
- Extraction: Teeth removal creates space for teeth to grow straight and is beneficial for jaws with shorter arches.
- Surgery: Correcting adult overjets may require jaw surgery when a patient’s lower jaw doesn’t extend forward enough.
Why choose Reflections Orthodontics?
Our professionals at Reflections Orthodontics provide tailored treatment plans for customized overjet corrections in Clarksville and Pleasant View, Tennessee. Our licensed experience provides customers with a healthier smile using:
- Premier care.
- Outstanding user experience.
- Quality treatment.
- Invisalign® partnership.
- Diamond or Diamond + level providers.
The first step toward overjet correction starts with an initial consultation. During this visit, you can explore customized treatments and flexible payment options. We offer two locations for patients in Clarksville, Tennessee, and one in Pleasant View, Tennessee.