title: Management of overbite with the Invisalign appliance.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Most of the published literature on the management of overbite with the Invisalign appliance (Align Technology, Santa Clara, Calif) consists of case reports and case series.
  
  
  METHODS
  In this retrospective study of 120 patients, we sought to assess the nature of overbite changes with the Invisalign appliance. Records were collected from 3 practitioners, all experienced with the Invisalign technique. The patients were consecutively treated adults (>18 years old) who underwent orthodontic treatment only with the Invisalign appliance. Patients with major transverse or anteroposterior changes or extraction treatment plans were excluded. The study sample included 68 patients with normal overbites, 40 with deepbites, and 12 with open bites. Their median age was 33 years, and 70% of the patients were women.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Cephalometric analyses indicated that the deepbite patients had a median overbite opening of 1.5 mm, whereas the open bite patients had a median deepening of 1.5 mm. The median change for the normal overbite patients was 0.3 mm. Changes in incisor position were responsible for most of the improvements in the deepbite and open bite groups. Minimal changes in molar vertical position and mandibular plane angle were noted.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The Invisalign appliance appears to manage the vertical dimension relatively well, and the primary mechanism is via incisor movements.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthodontics, School of Dentistry, University of Washington, Seattle, Wash. Electronic address: Roozkh@uw.edu.
authors.forename: Roozbeh
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Khosravi
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthodontics, School of Dentistry, University of Washington, Seattle, Wash.
authors.forename: Bobby
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Cohanim
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral Health Sciences, School of Dentistry, University of Washington, Seattle, Wash.
authors.forename: Philippe
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Hujoel
authors.affiliation: Private practice, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
authors.forename: Sam
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Daher
authors.affiliation: Private practice, Kirkland, Wash.
authors.forename: Michelle
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Neal
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthodontics, School of Dentistry, University of Washington, Seattle, Wash.
authors.forename: Weitao
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthodontics, School of Dentistry, University of Washington, Seattle, Wash.
authors.forename: Greg
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Huang
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002508:Cephalometry; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009967:Orthodontic Appliances; D009971:Orthodontics, Corrective / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D057887:Overbite / Q000628:therapy*; D012189:Retrospective Studies