How to Fix an Overbite: Causes, Treatment Options, and Cost
An overbite is a bite in which the upper front teeth cover the lower front teeth too deeply. Orthodontists correct it with braces or clear aligners, often with elastics, an appliance that guides jaw growth in a growing child, or jaw surgery in an adult. Treatment commonly takes twelve to thirty months.
Dr. Jenée Kaplan, DDS
Orthodontic residency and a Master’s degree at Loma Linda University. Member of the American Association of Orthodontists, the American Dental Association, and the California Dental Association.
What is an overbite?
Every healthy bite has some overlap. When the upper front teeth close over the lower front teeth, that vertical overlap is the overbite, and a couple of millimetres of it is normal and desirable — it is what lets the front teeth shear food. An overbite becomes a problem when the overlap is deep enough that the lower teeth disappear behind the uppers, or the lower front teeth bite into the gum tissue on the roof of the mouth.
Two different measurements get called an overbite in everyday speech. Overbite is the vertical overlap. Overjet is the horizontal one — how far the upper teeth sit forward of the lower teeth, which is what most people mean when they say their teeth "stick out". Many patients have both. They are corrected by different mechanics, which is why an examination and a set of records come before any promise about treatment time.
The distinction matters for what can be done. A deep bite is largely a problem of tooth position and can often be opened by moving teeth. A large overjet driven by a lower jaw that sits back is a problem of jaw position, and moving teeth alone only camouflages it.
What causes an overbite?
- Inherited jaw proportions
- The most common reason by a wide margin. Jaw size and shape run in families, and a lower jaw that grows slightly shorter than the upper produces an overbite no habit caused and no habit will fix.
- Prolonged thumb sucking or pacifier use
- Sustained pressure on the upper front teeth tips them forward and can hold the lower teeth back. Past roughly age four, the effect starts to show in the bite rather than resolving on its own.
- Tongue thrust and mouth breathing
- A tongue that pushes against the front teeth at rest or during swallowing applies light force thousands of times a day. Chronic mouth breathing, often from blocked nasal airway, changes resting posture of the jaw and tongue and is associated with a longer face and a deeper bite.
- Lost or worn teeth
- In adults, losing back teeth removes the stops that hold the bite open. The bite then collapses and deepens over years, which is why an overbite can appear in a forty-year-old whose bite was fine at twenty.
Why does an untreated overbite matter?
- Wear. A deep bite concentrates force on a few front teeth instead of spreading it across the arch. Enamel wears flat, edges chip, and the wear is not reversible — it is replaced with bonding or crowns, not regrown.
- Gum damage. Lower front teeth that bite into the palate, or upper teeth whose edges strike the gum below the lower teeth, cause recession and inflammation in a spot the patient cannot clean well.
- Function. Front teeth that never meet edge to edge do not shear food, so the back teeth do work they were not shaped for. Patients describe it as chewing feeling effortful without being able to say why.
- Injury risk. Upper front teeth that project past the lip are exposed. In children, a large overjet measurably raises the risk of a fractured front tooth in a fall or a collision, which matters for any child who plays contact sport.
- Speech. Less common, and worth naming honestly: most overbites do not affect speech. Where they do, it is usually an s or th sound, and it is assessed with a speech-language pathologist rather than assumed.
How is an overbite treated?
Braces with elastics
The workhorse for a deep bite. Brackets level the arch and open the bite; elastics worn between the upper and lower teeth pull the bite into a better relationship. Self-ligating brackets do the same job with a different closure mechanism and no colored ties.
Who it suits: Suits almost any overbite, and it is the more predictable choice when the correction is large or the bite needs a lot of vertical change. Requires the patient to actually wear the elastics — that is the variable that decides whether the finish is on time.
Clear aligners
A sequence of removable trays, each one moving teeth a fraction of a millimetre, with small bonded attachments where a tooth needs more grip. Elastics can be run from aligners too, so bite correction is not off the table.
Who it suits: Good for mild to moderate deep bites and for adults who will not accept fixed braces. A poor choice for a patient who will not wear trays twenty-two hours a day, and there are deep bites where aligners cannot generate the vertical control needed — an honest examination says so rather than selling the tray.
Growth guidance in a child
While a child is still growing, a functional appliance can encourage the lower jaw forward and the upper back, changing the relationship rather than tipping teeth to hide it. This window closes: it depends on growth that is available at eleven and gone at seventeen.
Who it suits: For growing children with a jaw-driven overbite, usually identified between seven and ten. Not applicable to adults — in a finished skeleton there is no growth left to direct.
Surgical orthodontics
For a severe adult overbite caused by jaw position rather than tooth position, braces align the arches and an oral surgeon repositions the jaw. It is a combined plan with a surgical colleague, not something an orthodontist does alone.
Who it suits: A small minority of cases. Named here because patients deserve to know it exists and to hear plainly whether their case is anywhere near needing it — usually it is not.
When is an overbite treated, and at what age?
Children, roughly seven to ten
The point of an evaluation this early is not to put braces on a seven-year-old. It is to see whether the overbite is skeletal, whether growth can be used, and whether habits are still driving it. Most children are simply watched at intervals until the adult teeth arrive. A minority benefit from a short first phase precisely because growth is available.
Teenagers
The standard window, and for good reason: the adult teeth are in, enough growth usually remains to help with a jaw-driven overbite, and the routine of school suits the visit schedule. Most comprehensive treatment here runs eighteen to thirty months.
Adults
Overbites are corrected successfully at any age — teeth move in a forty-year-old and a seventy-year-old, just without growth to borrow. Adult planning pays closer attention to gum health, existing crowns and fillings, worn enamel, and any missing back teeth that let the bite collapse in the first place.
What does it cost to fix an overbite?
Orthodontic fees are quoted per case rather than per condition, because two people with the same diagnosis can need very different treatment. These are the factors that move the number up or down, so you know what you are being quoted on:
- Whether the correction is comprehensive or limited to the front teeth.
- Appliance choice — fixed braces, aligners, or a growth-guidance appliance in a child.
- How long treatment runs, since cost tracks visits and appliance stages.
- Whether a surgical colleague is involved, which adds a separate surgical and hospital fee.
- Orthodontic insurance benefit, which is usually a lifetime maximum rather than an annual one, and whether a flexible spending account is in play.
Ask for the fee, the payment schedule, and your insurance benefit in writing at the consultation, before you decide anything. Any orthodontic practice should give you all three without being pressed.
When should you see an orthodontist about an overbite?
- The American Association of Orthodontists recommends a first evaluation by age seven. That is not a recommendation to start treatment at seven; it is when a skeletal overbite becomes visible early enough to use growth.
- At any age, if the lower front teeth are hidden behind the uppers when the back teeth are together, or the lower teeth contact gum rather than tooth.
- If front teeth are chipping, wearing flat, or becoming sensitive at the edges.
- If a front tooth has been knocked or fractured — projecting upper teeth make a second injury more likely.
Questions patients ask about overbites
Can an overbite be fixed without braces?
Often, yes — clear aligners correct many mild to moderate overbites, with elastics where the bite relationship needs changing. Whether aligners can do it depends on how much vertical correction is needed and how reliably the trays are worn. Some deep bites need fixed braces for the control they give.
How long does it take to fix an overbite?
Commonly twelve to thirty months of active treatment, then a retainer. A mild deep bite in a cooperative patient finishes at the short end. A large jaw-driven overbite, or one where elastics are worn inconsistently, runs longer. An estimate is only meaningful after records, not from a photograph.
Will an overbite get worse if I leave it?
It can. A deep bite tends to deepen with age as enamel wears and back teeth are lost, and the wear it causes on the front teeth accumulates rather than reverses. The bite itself may be stable for years while the damage is not, which is the part patients are usually surprised by.
Does insurance cover overbite treatment?
Many dental plans include an orthodontic benefit with a lifetime maximum, commonly applied whether the case is treated for function or appearance. Coverage varies widely by plan and some exclude adults. Have your benefit checked before treatment begins, so the number you are quoted is the number you pay.
Is an overbite the same as buck teeth?
Not quite. "Buck teeth" usually describes overjet — upper front teeth sitting forward of the lower ones. Overbite is the vertical overlap. Many patients have both, and they are corrected with different mechanics, so the examination distinguishes them before a plan is made.