New braces patients rightly worry about every little thing. Treatment is expensive, time-consuming, and sometimes uncomfortable, after all. It’s normal to want to make sure that everything is going smoothly, so when you notice that your teeth don’t touch with braces in your mouth, you may be concerned and want to know if you need an adjustment.
The main thing to know is that back teeth that don’t touch are perfectly normal while wearing braces. Continue reading to learn more about why this happens and how you can make your life easier while dealing with this expected but sometimes inconvenient issue.
Want to find out if you or your child needs braces? Visit Reese Orthodontics in Charleston, SC for leading orthodontic care.
What Does it Mean When My Teeth Don’t Touch?
Importantly, overbite and overjet issues can cause teeth to remain apart when your mouth is closed even before braces. But some patients notice their back molars no longer close after their first braces appointment, which could be related to these bite problems.
An open bite caused by your orthodontic treatment is nothing to be worried about. It can be caused by braces doing what they’re supposed to do. Your orthodontist may even prescribe a bite block to prevent your teeth from touching on purpose, preventing an irregular bite from damaging the brackets of the braces while you wear them.
Note that at-home aligner kits can sometimes cause an open bite without needing to, resulting in less efficient treatment. So long as you see an accredited orthodontist for your treatment and stay away from at-home solutions, they will plan your treatment for your individual case. They may expect your back teeth to no longer touch while wearing your braces, so you can ask them if this is normal for you. Chances are, it’s an expected and temporary side effect of your treatment.
Symptoms of Teeth Not Touching During Braces
If your back teeth do not touch while biting, you can experience symptoms ranging from speech impediments to chewing problems. Children with braces may only complain about their teeth feeling “weird,” so parents may have to investigate further.
For a while, eating normally may be difficult, but there are steps that patients with braces can take to get through the period when their back teeth don’t touch.
Tips for When Your Teeth Don’t Touch
Eating is the most inconvenient thing for patients whose back teeth don’t touch. They may need to adapt their eating habits to accommodate the change.
We recommend tearing food into pieces for a while to make it easier to chew, as well as avoiding chewy or fibrous foods like bagels, steak, celery, and French bread. Instead, opt for softer foods that require less chewing like eggs, oatmeal, seafood, cheese, cooked fruits and vegetables, mashed potatoes, and cake.
Another inconvenience is the potential speaking difficulties for patients with back teeth that don’t touch. For this, we recommend speaking slowly for a while and focusing on each syllable until you get used to talking normally with your new bite.
What about Invisalign?
Invisalign is an alternative treatment to braces that uses a series of clear plastic aligners to accomplish similar goals. Orthodontists use it to correct malocclusions when the patient wants a treatment option that is more flexible and discreet.
Just like braces, Invisalign can cause your back teeth to stop touching when you bite down due to restrictions placed on your jaw while the aligners correct your bite. However, this is not as common with Invisalign, since this treatment method is not used for the most severe cases of overcrowding or overbite, which often require metal braces.
This means that since serious bite issues are more likely to be treated with braces, an open posterior bite is more likely to occur in those patients. However, since every situation (and every smile) is different, you should speak with your orthodontist about your treatment options to figure out which is the right one for you.
Choose Reese Orthodontics
If you’re an adult who is considering braces, you need professional advice on your treatment and payment options. For orthodontic treatments in Charleston, SC, Reese Orthodontics offers the latest technology and treatment plans. Our advanced and comfortable orthodontic treatments can be customized to suit your needs. A consultation with Reese Orthodontics includes scans, a comprehensive exam, and a conversation with the orthodontist to discover which treatment options are right for you.
Schedule an appointment with us today to stay ahead of your oral health and receive the best possible treatment in your area.