Adults can fix an overbite through several proven methods, ranging from braces and clear aligners to small bone screws and jaw surgery. The right approach depends on whether the problem is in your teeth, your jaw bones, or both. A normal overbite measures 1 to 3 mm of vertical overlap between your upper and lower front teeth. Anything beyond 3 mm is considered a deep bite and typically benefits from treatment.
Overbite vs. Overjet: Know What You Have
Many people say “overbite” when they actually mean two different things. An overbite is vertical: your upper front teeth overlap your lower front teeth too much when you bite down. An overjet is horizontal: your upper teeth stick out too far in front of your lower teeth (sometimes called “buck teeth”). Normal overjet is about 2 mm. You can have one or both, and treatment differs depending on which problem you’re dealing with. An orthodontist will measure both during your initial exam.
What’s Causing Your Overbite
The distinction that matters most for treatment is whether your overbite is dental or skeletal. A dental overbite means your teeth grew in at the wrong angles or positions, but your jaw bones are fine. A skeletal overbite means your upper and lower jaws are different sizes or positioned incorrectly relative to each other.
Skeletal deep bites tend to show specific patterns: a shorter lower face, a steeper angle at the back of the jaw, and a jaw that grew more vertically in back than in front. Dental deep bites show up as excessive curvature along the chewing surfaces of your lower teeth, longer upper front teeth, or incisors that tilt too far inward. Most adults have some combination of both, which is why treatment plans often use multiple approaches.
Braces and Clear Aligners
Traditional braces remain the most versatile option for correcting an adult overbite. They can intrude teeth (push them up into the gums), tip them into better positions, and work alongside other tools like rubber bands to reshape how your bite fits together. For mild to moderate overbites that are primarily dental, braces alone can resolve the problem over 18 to 30 months.
Clear aligners can treat overbites too, though they work best for milder cases. They use sequential plastic trays to shift teeth gradually, and newer systems include features like precision attachments and elastic hooks to help correct bite depth. The average cost of clear aligner treatment runs around $5,000, though more complex overbite cases requiring additional aligners or longer treatment push that number higher. Traditional braces for overbite correction fall in a similar range, typically $3,000 to $7,000 depending on severity and your location.
Tooth Extraction as a Treatment Strategy
When the upper and lower jaws are mismatched in size, removing teeth can compensate for the discrepancy without surgery. The most common approach is extracting two upper bicuspids (the teeth between your canines and molars), which creates space for the remaining teeth to shift backward and reduce the overbite. For many adults with moderate skeletal overbites, this extraction-based approach eliminates the need for jaw surgery entirely. It does add time to orthodontic treatment since the extraction spaces need to close completely, but most patients prefer it over a surgical option.
Temporary Anchorage Devices
One of the most significant advances in adult overbite treatment involves tiny titanium screws called temporary anchorage devices, or TADs. These are placed directly into the jawbone between tooth roots during a brief office visit, and they serve as fixed anchor points that let orthodontists move teeth in ways that weren’t previously possible without surgery.
For deep bites, TADs are particularly useful for intruding molars, meaning they push back teeth upward into the bone. This causes the lower jaw to rotate slightly forward and upward, which closes the bite. Research shows TADs achieve an average molar intrusion of about 1.7 mm, and each millimeter of intrusion translates to roughly 0.86 mm of bite improvement. In practice, that means TAD-assisted treatment can improve overbite by 3 to 7 mm depending on the technique used.
An important finding from clinical studies is that lighter forces on these screws work just as well as heavier ones. Excessive force can actually damage the tissue around tooth roots, causing a healing delay that slows the whole process down. Your orthodontist will calibrate the force carefully, and treatment with TADs typically spans several months within a longer overall orthodontic plan. The screws are removed painlessly once treatment is complete.
Jaw Surgery for Severe Cases
When the overbite stems from significant skeletal discrepancy, meaning the jaws themselves are the wrong size or position, orthodontics alone may not be enough. Orthognathic surgery repositions one or both jaws to create a functional bite. This is typically reserved for adults whose overbites cause functional problems like difficulty chewing, jaw pain, or breathing issues, or cases where the skeletal mismatch is too large for orthodontic camouflage.
Surgery is always combined with braces or aligners. You’ll usually wear braces for several months before surgery to align your teeth within each jaw, then the surgeon repositions the jaws, and you continue wearing braces for six to nine months afterward to fine-tune the result.
Recovery follows a predictable timeline. You’ll be on a liquid diet for about a month. Light activity like short walks is usually possible within the first week or two, and most people return to work or school after three to four weeks. Initial recovery takes about six weeks, but full bone healing can take up to a year. The cost of jaw surgery combined with orthodontics is substantially higher than braces alone, often $20,000 to $40,000 before insurance, though medical insurance (not just dental) frequently covers a portion when the surgery is deemed medically necessary.
How Treatment Differs for Adults vs. Teens
Adult overbite correction works, but it does come with some realities that differ from treating teenagers. Adult bone is fully mature, so there’s no remaining growth to harness. Treatments that redirect jaw growth in adolescents, like functional appliances, simply don’t work the same way once you’re done growing. This is why adults with skeletal overbites are more likely to need surgery or extraction-based approaches.
Tooth movement also tends to be slightly slower in adults because bone remodeling happens at a lower rate. Treatment timelines often run a few months longer than they would for the same case in a teenager. Adults are also more likely to have existing dental work like crowns, bridges, or missing teeth that the orthodontist needs to plan around.
On the positive side, adults are far more consistent with wearing rubber bands, retainers, and aligners as directed. Compliance is one of the biggest factors in treatment success, and adult patients reliably outperform teens in this area.
Choosing the Right Approach
The best starting point is a consultation with an orthodontist, ideally one experienced in adult treatment. They’ll take X-rays and measurements to determine whether your overbite is dental, skeletal, or a combination, and how many millimeters of correction you need. A few practical considerations can help guide the conversation:
- Mild overbite (3 to 5 mm): Often correctable with braces or clear aligners alone, sometimes with rubber bands. Treatment typically takes 12 to 24 months.
- Moderate overbite (5 to 7 mm): May require TADs, tooth extraction, or both, combined with braces. Expect 18 to 30 months of treatment.
- Severe overbite (7+ mm with skeletal involvement): Likely candidates for jaw surgery combined with braces, or aggressive orthodontic camouflage with extractions and TADs if surgery isn’t desired. Total treatment spans two to three years.
Insurance coverage varies widely. Many dental plans cover a portion of orthodontic treatment for adults, though lifetime maximums are common (often $1,500 to $2,500). If jaw surgery is part of the plan, medical insurance may cover the surgical component separately. Most orthodontic offices offer payment plans that spread the cost over the length of treatment.