Case report: nonsurgical treatment of an adult with severe anterior open bite

A malocclusion characterized by open bite and vertical maxillary excess can be one of the most difficult problems to correct through orthodontic treatment because of the difficulty in permanently changing the morphological disharmony and/or functional disorder associated with open bite. However, in some patients with less severe skeletal impairment it may be possible to orthodontically correct the occlusal disharmony so that the new relationship of the dental arches becomes compatible with normal function of the oral environment. Stability may be enhanced if mechanics are used which do not extrude posterior teeth.

Long-term followup of orthodontic treatment of a patient with maxillary protrusion, severe deep overbite and thumb-sucking

Oral habits should be of primary clinical concern to orthodontists because they may cause malocclusion, and/or interfere with treatment progress. Generally habit control should be achieved prior to correction of the malocclusion in an effort to remove any etiological factors in development and maintenance of the malocclusion. It is also important for the clinician to understand that habit-breaking treatment may require an extended treatment time because habits may have been present for long periods of time and may be related to underlying psychological problems. The present report documents the treatment of maxillary protrusion in a patient in which a thumb-sucking habit had persisted from infancy until almost age 12. Elimination of the habit was accomplished prior to correcting the malocclusion and for stability of the result. Orthodontic treatment consisted of extracting two maxillary premolars followed by full treatment with fixed appliances. Long-term postretention records show good stability of the corrected malocclusion.