Open Bite

In kid words

Close your top and bottom teeth together the way you would for chewing, then check whether your front teeth are touching. If there's a little gap between them even with your back teeth closed, that's called an open bite, and it's pretty common in kids. It doesn't hurt, and it isn't anything you did. Your pediatric dentist keeps an eye on it as you grow, the same way they watch all your other teeth.

The parent version

Open bite is the term for a bite where the upper and lower front teeth do not touch when the back teeth come together, leaving a visible gap. It's one of several patterns grouped under the broader word malocclusion, and it shows up most often in young children rather than appearing out of nowhere later on.

Mainstream dental sources frequently connect an early open bite with habits like thumb-sucking, finger-sucking or extended pacifier use, though jaw growth and tongue position can play a role too, and it's rarely just one single cause. Many young children's bites settle on their own as a habit fades and more permanent teeth arrive, but the timing differs for every child. Whether your own child's bite needs a closer look is a question for your pediatric dentist, not something to work out from a glance at home.

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Where you might hear it at our office

Growth and alignment are checked at every routine visit, so an open bite is often something our team already has an eye on well before a parent brings it up. When a developing bite looks worth a closer look, that conversation moves naturally into orthodontics, where Dr. Whitesides provides comprehensive orthodontic care at our Fort Myers office. An evaluation with that team can happen as young as 7 or 8 when growth calls for it, a benchmark set by the American Association of Orthodontists, though your pediatric dentist is the one who decides what your own child actually needs.

Curious about another word from a recent visit? The rest of the Kids' Dental Dictionary is right here.

Related words

Bite. Malocclusion. Overbite.

Parents ask us

What usually causes an open bite in young kids?

Mainstream dental sources most often point to habits like thumb-sucking, finger-sucking or extended pacifier use, though jaw growth and tongue position can factor in too, and it's rarely just one cause. Ask your pediatric dentist what seems to be at play for your own child.

Will my child's open bite close up by itself?

For many young children, yes, especially once a habit fades and more permanent teeth settle in, though the timeline varies quite a bit. Your pediatric dentist can tell you what to expect at a routine growth check.

At what age should an open bite get evaluated?

That depends on the child, since growth and alignment already get watched at every routine visit. The American Association of Orthodontists points to evaluations as young as 7 or 8 in some cases, but your pediatric dentist will tell you what fits your child specifically.

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