Porcelain Veneers are a way to enhance your smile with Cosmetic Dentistry. You cannot correct overbites or underbites with porcelain veneers. However, bite correction can be completed with porcelain restorations that can also change facial profiles, reverse aging facial appearances, correct overbites and underbites. TMJ pain can also be helped with these cases.
Non-surgical bite correction is possible in most cases. This type of care is not general dentistry or conventional porcelain veneers and there are many factors to consider. There is more to this than just looking at teeth.
Bite Correction Before & After
Non-surgical overbite correction
Before: overbite, facial asymmetry
After: Non-surgical overbite correction and non-surgical facelift
What should be considered and evaluated with non-surgical bite correction procedures:
- TMJ: pain and dysfunction need to be addressed
- Profile of face
- Airway
- Cervical issues
- Position of the teeth
- Tongue posture and function
A 3D CBCT scan can provide much valuable information to help plan treatment so that long-term stabilization is possible.
Class III or underbite corrections are possible without surgery and can be completed with conservative porcelain restorations. This truly changes faces, profiles, and bites as well as can prevent further damage to the teeth.
Class II or overbites can also benefit from conservative bite correction using conservative porcelain restorations. Many of these cases also have an overclosed bite and a small or weak chin. Often patients feel their chin is too close to their nose. These cases not only change the bite, but the facial profiles as well, and if TMJ pain, most often can be eliminated too.
Whereas plastic surgeons can certainly eliminate wrinkles and tighten the skin, there is no way for this to change the lower 1/3 of the or the facial profiles. Orthognathic surgery is not necessary in most of these cases.
Other cases have collapsed bites or sunken faces in which bite correction can be done non-surgically and create healthier bites and more beautiful faces.
If you have questions about bite correction with no jaw surgery or are in need of TMJ treatment, please feel free to call our office, Ronald W. Konig DDS, FAGD, LVIF, FIAPA, 713-668-2289.