Abstract
This article assesses the dental and skeletal changes resulting from correction of a deep bite using Invisalign clear aligner therapy (Align Technology, Santa Clara, California, United States).This is a retrospective case series study that analyzed pre- and posttreatment cephalograms for 37 adult deep bite patients. Each patient was treated by one experienced clinician using the same treatment protocol. Ten linear and 9 angular variables were evaluated pre- and posttreatment. The Wilcoxon analysis was used to determine if there was a significant difference in the 19 variables pre- and posttreatment.Statistically significant differences (p < 0.05) were observed for 14 of 19 variables. These included a decrease in overjet (-1.0 mm), decrease in overbite (-4.1 mm), extrusion of the upper first molar (+0.5 mm), intrusion of the upper incisor (-0.6 mm), extrusion of the lower second molar (+1.0 mm), lower first molar (+1.2 mm), lower second premolar (+1.70 mm), and lower first premolar (+1.7 mm), intrusion of the lower incisor (-1.8 mm), proclination of lower incisor (+4.1 degrees), and an increase in sella-nasion- mandibular plane (+0.6 mm). A decrease in anterior occlusal plane was also significant.Invisalign is an effective treatment modality for correcting dental deep bites through posterior extrusion and anterior intrusion. Minimal skeletal changes are seen when correcting deep bites with Invisalign. Results of this study enhance our understanding of the dental and skeletal changes that can be expected when attempting to correct deep bites with clear aligner therapy.